From the Brink
by ScionoftheEnd
Summary: After having been wrongly imprisoned for three years, Percy is finally released, but he's not the same. To add to the trouble, it looks as if Kronos is on the move again. Post TLO with a different ending to the war
1. Prologue: Answers

Hey guys, I'm new to PJO fanfic community, but I've had this story running around in my head for awhile.

I'll get the first full length chapter up as soon as possible. In the meantime, hope you enjoy the prologue. Review and let me know what you think. Constructive criticism welcome.

Before i forget. **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, nor any related characters.**

Enjoy...

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Prologue: Answers

It was a peaceful day.

The sun was shining brightly and the clouds were thick and puffy. A slight breeze kept the temperature at a perfect level and whistled soothingly as it passed through the trees. The U-shape band of cabins stood in pristine condition. They had all received fresh paint jobs recently and looked as though they had just been built. The grass seemed greener than usual, and the Big House more…blue than usual. Of course, this was all natural weather for Camp Half Blood, surrounded by its magical boundaries that kept out even the rain. Even the baying of the hellhounds in the forest was low and muffled.

A very peaceful day.

Minus the angry demi-god that was storming across the camp, making a beeline for the bright sky blue barn. Sunlight bounced in all direction off of her golden hair, and a fiercely worried angry burned in her storm gray eyes. The owl earrings and bead necklace she wore jangled as she walked.

Correction, stomped.

Her name was Annabeth Chase, and she was nineteen years old.

And she was angry. Royally angry. _Seething._ Angry as Hades would be after discovering someone had released all the dead back to life. She had just received an Iris Message from her mother, Athena, goddess of wisdom and strategy. What her mother had told her had shocked her beyond anything else. She had never thought that she would ever hear the words her mother said to her. _They can't do that can they? After what he did? He's been corrupted, he's too far gone. They couldn't…could they?_ And despite three years of training herself not to think of it, her heart twinged in response to the emotions stirring in her head. _Why? I shouldn't have these feelings anymore. What he did was unforgivable._ Yet a small part of her hoped, prayed, that the IM had been right. She squashed that part, but it was still there, taunting her. She shook her head to clear it.

She had reached the Big House. She leaped up the steps in a single bound and marched to the door and yanked it open without slowing a step. When she was halfway across the foray, a man stood up from where he was sitting on a bench and approached her. He caught her by the shoulders and restrained her despite her best efforts to break free.

"Annabeth, stop. You can't go in there."

"Let me go, now."

"I can't. You can't. _We_ can't."

"Let. Me. Go."

"No."

"Luke Castellan, let me go right this instant! I have to go in there. I have to confirm if it's true, and if it is, convince them what they're doing is wrong!"

"Annabeth, this is the gods' decision, we can't oppose it." Luke was exasperated at this point. "Why, why do you not want it to happen? You two were the closest of friends. You were even…"

Annabeth turned her head aside. "That all changed after the war, after he went insane, Luke."

"You don't even kn-"

"No more, Luke!" Luke started back. There were tears in Annabeth's eyes. "Let me through, now!" Though she tried to sound confident, Luke could here the distress and the desperation behind it. She pushed past the blonde boy and walked to the set of double doors. Luke did not try to stop her this time, he merely followed behind her as she entered the large conference room beyond.

There were several people clustered around a table. At the head, deep in conversation while sitting over a chess board, were a centaur and a man. The man was wearing a cheap Hawaiian shirt and was holding a Diet Coke in his right hand. His left hand was casually gesturing at the ground, where vines were growing as if from no where. The centaur, whose lower half was a beautiful white stallion, looked up in surprise when Annabeth stormed into the room.

But she ignored him, both he and the man. She had eyes for only one person in the room. A girl in black clothes with torn sleeves. She had a silver bracelet and head cord on and she seemed to be slightly shimmering. She had short, spiked black hair. She looked up and her blue eyes locked onto Annabeth's gray ones. They widened slightly, and Annabeth could see the thought racing around in her brain.

_Oh shit!_

Annabeth charged her, and grabbed two large fistfuls of her shirt and pulled her face close.

"Is it true, Thalia?"

She stared right back. "Is what true, Annabeth?"

"By the gods, Thalia, don't do this to me."

"Annabeth-"

"No. No more excuses. I want the truth. I don't care if it comes from you, Luke, Chiron, Mr. D. over there, or even the gods. I just want an answer."

Annabeth glared at Thalia until she finally glanced away under the force of the daughter of Athena's gaze. Annabeth knew that she had won. Normally this would be impossible. Thalia would normally have thrown her right outside the door, straight on her butt the instant Annabeth touched her clothes. But this was different. This situation made them all...vulnerable.

Annabeth looked at Thalia for another minute in silence before finally asking a single question. Even though it was only whispered, it sounded loud as a church bell during a funeral in the silent room.

"What the Hades do they mean, _'We're releasing him'_?"


	2. Warm and Cold, Bitter and Sweet

And here it is, the first chapter, things might make a little more sense to those of you who were confused

enjoy...

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Warm and Cold, Bitter and Sweet

"Mother, you can't let this happen! You're the goddess of wisdom, so you know how bad of a decision this is! You have to stop them!"

"Annabeth, I cannot."

"You must._ He _cannot be allowed to go free. He has to remain imprisoned. Please! After what he did, how many he killed…"

"Annabeth, I cannot do anything. This decision came unanimously. He saved Olympus. Twice. And we imprisoned him to the worst possible fate for that. We have wronged him, and we look to correct that mistake. Though I'd rather we leave him where he is, we cannot deny what he's done."

"He saved Olympus…twice?"

Athena shook her head, the Iris Message doing nothing to detract from her beauty. "I'll explain once we get there."

"Get here? Wait, you're coming here?! To Camp Half-Blood?!"

"Yes, this issue requires our…personal attention, Annabeth."

"But mother-"

"No more, just wait for me there." With that, Athena severed the connection.

Annbeth sat back and huffed. This was ridiculous! Even her own mother wouldn't listen to her, and Athena even hated the person in question. And why were the gods coming here? _He _was in Tartarus, so why would they come here for his release? And then it hit her. He was coming here. This was his destination after he had been set free.

Annabeth turned and looked at Thalia, who was sitting right beside her on the bench. They were still inside the Big House's conference room. "Did you know this, Thalia?"

"That he was coming here?" Annabeth nodded mutely. "Yep."

"Why the Hades didn't you tell me?"

"For this reason right here, obviously. You're about to get all riled up and high and mighty aren't you?"

"No I'm not! You should've told me! Then I could have at least prepared a little, tried to convince the gods that this isn't the right place, that it isn't safe to bring him here, that he poses a possible threat to each and every dem-" Annabeth stopped when she caught Thalia rolling her eyes. "What is _that_ look for?"

"Because, you're doing exactly what I said you'd do."

"I…damn you."

Thalia smiled brightly. "Love you too, Annabeth."

Annabeth did not return the smile. Rather she slouched over the table and put her head in her hands. "What the Hades is going on, Thalia? They promised us that after he went insane, he would never be seen again. And now, only three years later, he's coming back. Why? Why did they suddenly change their minds?"

Thalia shrugged. "They're the gods. They change their minds all the time, sometimes it's not for the best." A peal of thunder sounded out across the sky. Thalia looked up. "Calm down, Dad." She turned back to Annabeth. "Besides, for once, I'm happy they're having a change of heart."

Annabeth stared at her from in between her fingers. "_What?_"

"I'm happy, Annabeth. He was my friend too, you know. I miss him. And I know that he had a reason for doing what he did after the final battle. He wasn't…like that, you know? He was always the strong, stable one." She chuckled. "He may not have been the most intelligent, but he would never hurt his friends. Ever."

"But Thalia-"

"Maybe you should listen to her, Annabeth." Luke walked over and sat beside her on the other side, so she was sandwiched between them. "He wasn't a bad person, Annabeth. He never betrayed a single one of his friends, and always did everything he could to protect them."

"Then explain what happened after he defeated Kronos!"

Luke shrugged and Thalia spoke up, "The truth is, Annabeth, we can't. Nobody can. Maybe he really did lose his mind, went insane from everything that he had been burdened with. If he did, could you blame him? He had the weight of the world on his shoulders, both literally and figuratively. The world depended on what choice he made, and he had to protect his friends. He bore Achilles' curse, invincible but at a terrible price. Everyone expected everything from him, and maybe he just couldn't hold that any longer. For the gods' sakes Annabeth, his soul was even separated from his body in the final battle. We have no clue what that did to his mind. Either way, I'll go on thinking that he had a reason for what he did. What surprises me is that you don't. That you were so quick to persecute him along with everybody else. You were his closest friend, Annabeth."

"_Were_ being the key word there."

"He would've defended you, you know? If the situations were reversed."

Annabeth opened her mouth to speak, and then closed it. She was quiet for a minute before finally saying quietly, "There are some things that cannot be forgiven, no matter who you are. Some of those people he killed were my friends, my brothers, my sisters. I can't…I can't just overlook that Thalia."

"They were mine too, you know. I lost a hell of a lot of friends during that war, the same as you, but I still remain loyal to my friends, regardless of what they did." Annabeth shook her head.

"Annabeth, please think about this."

"Shut it, Luke. You've been trying to kill him since his first year here, and now, all of a sudden, you're happy that he's free? Do you think he's going to be glad to see you? Do you think he's going to let you just get away with what you've done?"

Luke looked away, avoiding her eyes. "I never said that, Annabeth. And you're right, I have been trying to kill him for awhile. But that was while I was under the influence of Kronos. That was before Percy risked _everything_ to save me. Before my father finally talked to me, and explained everything to me. Now, now I'm ashamed of what I did. I hate myself. However, I wish to see the hero who made all of that possible set free, to get the ending he deserves."

"Besides, the gods have an extremely good reason to release our friend," a new voice spoke out from across the table. Annabeth and Luke jumped and turned to meet the new demigod. Thalia just smiled, used to his random appearings and disappearings.

"Jeez Nico, you mind not scaring the bejeesus out of us like that?"

He looked down sheepishly. "Sorry, Annabeth. I keep forgetting that shadow travel doesn't make noise when you emerge. Hello, Thal."

"Yello there, Nic." Annabeth looked between them. They had certainly been spending a lot of time together these past few months. Maybe it was something to with mutual obsession over the color black. She didn't know. Nico looked pretty much the same though. His mess of hair was a little longer, and his olive skin had a few new scars, but other than that, he was still the same old Nico. "How's life been, kid?"

"Not too shabby. You'd think kicking it around with a bunch of zombies and ghosts in the Fields of Asphodel would get pretty lame, but it stays surprisingly fun. Yourself?"

"Oh you know, same ol' same ol'. Hunting down mythical beasts with a bunch of magically frozen-in-time teenage females. Fun stuff."

Annabeth continued to sit there and listen to their small talk for another few minutes, her irritation growing all the while. Finally, when she couldn't take it anymore, she slapped her hands on the table and spoke angrily, "What did you mean when you said they had a good reason for letting him out, Nico?" He looked at her confusedly, so she sighed, "When you appeared just now, you said that the gods had a good reason for releasing him, what did you mean?"

"Oh that, yeah. They do have a good reason. Something that has to do with all of the demigods he killed. I overheard my dad discussing it with the rest of the gods this morning."

"And that would be?"

"The reason? I'm not entirely sure, to be perfectly honest. I only caught a few words about the killed demis, and I think something about the minor gods."

Annabeth pinched the bridge of her nose, "Why do I ever listen to you?"

"Cause I'm awesome?"

"Yeah, Nic, I'm sure that's the _exact_ reason Annabeth Chase listens to you."

He shrugged, "Worth a shot."

Luke shook his head. "Nico, are you sure you don't know anything else?"

"Not a thing."

Thalia leaned over the table and looked him straight in the eye. "You can stop lying any time you want now, Nic."

Nico fidgeted under her gaze. "Don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do."

"Nope, not a clue."

"Nic," Thalia's voice grew stern. Nico continued to look anywhere but Thalia's face. "Nic." Now a dangerous edge had crept into her voice, and she had leaned closer across the table. "Nic."

"Dammit, Thalia! You always do this!"

She smiled victoriously. "I'm just good at picking out lies, especially yours." Nico grumbled. "Now care to explain what you've been holding out on?"

"Alright, fine. I was in the throne room with my father when he was talking to the rest of the Olympus crew. I heard everything, and I know exactly why they've decided to release him." Everyone waited in silence for Nico to continue. He looked at them with a befuddled expression on his face. "Um…that's it?"

"I'm calling bullshit. If you know the reason, tell us, dumbass."

"He probably can't, Thalia."

"What do you mean he can't?"

Annabeth shifted. "Well, if Lord Hades was aware that Nico was there at the time, he most likely made him promise that he wouldn't tell anyone."

Thalia snorted, "So what? It's not like your father's never broken any of _his_ promises, Nic, so feel free to spill the beans."

"It's not that easy, Thal. My father has the habit of making sure other peoples' promises are going to be kept."

"He made you swear on the Styx," Luke stated.

"Yep. So, unfortunately, I can't tell you guys anymore than this. They have a legitimate reason for freeing him. They found out why he did what he did and realized they screwed up…again." This time the angry rumbling came from below.

"My my, the parents are a wee bit testy this afternoon aren't they?"

Annabeth shot her a look. "Don't provoke them, Thalia."

She stuck out her bottom lip and pouted, "But it's fun."

"Either way, Nico here didn't really help us out too much."

"Ah c'mon Annabeth, I totally did."

"No, you totally _didn't_. Because you can't really tell us anything, the only thing you managed to accomplish was to make us all the more apprehensive, which doesn't really help at all." She sighed. "I really wish I knew what was going on." As if in response to her words, a loud baying suddenly sounded from outside.

Nico's face lit up. "Mrs. O'Leary. So she's doing well then."

"She sounds awfully excited about something," Luke remarked.

"Yeah, it sounds like when she used to greet Perc-" Annabeth's remark died in her throat and the four demigods stared at each other with wide eyes. They looked towards the other end of the table, where Mr. D and Chiron had been playing chess, but they were no where to be seen. And then they bolted out of their seats and out of the door, just in time to see Mrs. O'Leary, the only friendly hellhound anybody had ever seen, bounding past Thalia's tree and down the other side of the hill. They pulled to an abrupt halt. Standing at the top of the hill, ringed around the tree, were twelve figures that radiated power and authority.

"The gods, they're here. Then…Mrs. O'Leary…" Annabeth's voice was weak

"Was going to him. He's here. He's back." Nico couldn't keep the joy out of his voice.

"We should go greet him," Thalia's voice was equally full of mirth. Her eyes were bright and she looked ready to sprint over the hill after the fashion of Mrs. O'Leary. Nico put a hand on her shoulder before she could take a step though. She gave him a questioning look. "Nic?"

"I'll give you guys fair warning right now, he's not the same."

"How would you know?" Annabeth, always the logical one.

"For several reasons. First, I know what Tartarus can do to a person, especially one who's still living. Second, he was locked up with his worst enemy, that being the Titan Lord. He was tortured, long and hard, and that normally changes a person. Third, I've been to see him before. I'm a son of Hades, I have permission to go where I will in the land of the dead and there is no chance harm will come to me, even from Tartarus and its inhabitants. He's not the same."

"You're telling us this now…why?"

"So that you're ready for what you'll see."

"Whatever, Nic. Don't forget I've been there too, can we go now?"

"Wait, Thalia! What do you mean you've been there? You visited him while he was imprisoned?"

Thalia looked Annabeth dead in the eyes. "Yeah, I did. I asked Nico if I could tag along once. He didn't say anything to me, he couldn't. He was too busy trying to hold himself together. I saw what they did to him," Thalia's voice cracked. "I can barely believe he's still alive after three years of that." She shuddered and turned back to the hill. "Let's go."

The group of demigods marched to the top of the hill. Along the way they were joined by a few campers who had noticed something was up. At the top of the hill they bowed before the gods and stood in a line off to one side. They stared off in the distance, waiting for him to show up.

They waited a while, nothing moved along the only road leading the camp. However, soon Thalia spotted a dust cloud on the horizon and called out. The gods shifted restlessly, they hated being made to wait like this. Gradually the dust cloud drew closer and closer, and Annabeth began to be able to make out the outlines of two people and a hellhound. Her chest clenched up and her knees buckled. He was here. All of it was a reality. He was back. How could she face him, knowing what he did? Why was she breathing so fast? Was it because she was nervous? Because she was afraid of this young man walking toward them? Or was she happy, just like the others?

She was so confused and so distracted that she didn't realize how close he'd come until he crested the hill and stood among all of them. His companion clopped up beside him. It was Grover, of course. He would never miss the return of his best friend, and it looked like he had escorted him all the way from Hades. He was edging farther and farther away from Mrs. O'Leary though, who had happily flopped down beside her master. Annabeth slowly raised her eyes from the ground, taking in his appearance from the feet up.

Shoes, jeans, white T-shirt, overtop was a dark grayish green jacket. He had a bag looped over one shoulder and across his chest, like a mailbag. His left palm and wrist were bandaged, wrapped in white gauze, but the extent of the injury couldn't be judged. Slowly her eyes slid up to his head, then to his face. His hair was even longer now, reaching down to his shoulders, black locks of it fell over his face. Annabeth gasped as she saw the livid scar that stretched from his left temple all the way down to the base of his throat.

But that was nothing compared to his eyes.

They were still the same shade of beautiful green that she had loved three years ago. A shade that reminded her of the ocean and of cool, clear water. But there was something different about them. They seemed deeper now. They had lost much of the mirth she had come to look forward to in those eyes, and it had been replaced with pain. There was so much there she could almost feel the things he had suffered through while she stared at him. His eyes were so much…darker than they had been. As they stood there staring at each other, something clawed at Annabeth's heart. Something was horribly wrong. "Percy…" she whispered.

He didn't acknowledge her at all, his eyes roamed right along to the people standing next to her. And before she could react, he started walking towards them. He walked up to Thalia first, who had tears in her eyes. Actual tears, from _Thalia_. She reached up and touched his cheek before throwing herself at him and embracing him tightly. He hugged her back just as hard. "I missed you, so much," she whispered.

"I missed you too, more than you know," he replied.

She sob-chuckled and said half-heartedly, "I doubt that, Seaweed Brain, I know everything, remember?"

He gave her a crooked grin. "How could I forget?" He release her and moved to the next person. "Nico."

"Percy." They looked at each other for a second before reaching out and grasping each other's forearms. "It's good to have you back."

"It's good be back. I need to thank you two. You and Thalia. Even if it didn't seem like I noticed, I saw you two come to visit me, and that kept me going. Thank you two, so much." He released Nico's arm and patted him on the shoulder. He moved again down the line. He stopped in front of Luke. Annabeth could feel the tension between the two. "So you're this side of the line this time, eh?" Luke just continued to stare at him. "I know about Kronos, Luke, and what he did to you. And while you're still partially at fault, the majority of the blame was his." He offered his hand to Luke, who shook it numbly.

"You're…you're…forgiving me, just like that?"

Luke, bear in mind I was part of you, even if only for an instant. I knew everything going through your head. I also couldn't have defeated Kronos without your help. Let's call it even."

Luke smiled, "Let's."

"Besides, I need someone who can stand up to me in sword combat anyway."

Luke chuckled, "You're on, Jackson."

"I look forward to it." Percy then turned around and started walking back toward the gods.

Annabeth was confused, had he not noticed her? How could he not have seen her here, when she was not a foot from Luke? "Percy…?" she said quietly.

He turned and looked at her with cold, hard eyes. "What is it, daughter of Athena?" His voice was emotionless and frigid as a glacier. Annabeth was speechless, this wasn't like the Percy she knew. Nico's words came back her now. _He's not the same_. But she knew that this wasn't just a change caused by Tartarus or his imprisonment. After all, he had been friendly and warm to everybody else, even Luke, whom she thought he had hated. This change, it had been caused by her. It was her fault, because of she had turned against him when she should've stayed by his side and supported him. "Nothing to say? Then don't bother me." She felt like someone had punched her in the gut. Her breath left her body and her knees went weak for the second time.

"B-but Percy, I-I-"

She was caught off by a loud voice that carried tremendous power. "PERSEUS JACKSON!" It was Zeus, and he was fuming. "Why did you not show us proper respect when you saw us?"

"I was saying hello to my friends. I haven't seen them in three years, you know?" Percy leaned down and scratched Mrs. O'Leary behind her ear.

"You have done that now, so kneel before us, as you are supposed to."

Percy laughed. He laughed hard, and his laughter didn't quite sound sane, it had a hysterical quality to it. "Kneel? To you? You who have caused me so much misery and pain? I don't think so."

Zeus looked as though someone had slapped him in the face, and the other gods had similar expressions. Only Poseidon seemed unfazed by the declaration.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, BOY?!"

"I said I wouldn't kneel to you." Percy's voice was bitter and full of anger. "I fought your fucking war for you. I _won_ your fucking war for you. I saved your home, _twice_. And how did you repay me? By throwing me into the deepest pits of hell with Kronos for three years. No, I will not kneel to you. And if you have a problem with that, try and make me." He drew a pen from his pocket, uncapped it, and the celestial bronze sword Riptide grew in his hand.

"Percy! What the Hades do you think you're doing?!" Thalia screamed at him.

"Peeeeercy," Grover bleated.

But he kept his eyes locked on Zeus. The god was so angry that electricity was literally crackling around him. "You do realize, mortal, that you have been stripped of the Curse of Achilles?"

"I realized that a long time ago, 'bout the time I ran into Kronos."

"THEN KNEEL!"

"I said NO!" The ground shook and cracks appeared in the ground, water spouted up into the air all over and swirled around Percy. "I will not kneel to you."

Zeus glared at him. "We will discuss this later." Then he and the rest of the gods revealed their true forms and vanished. All was silent for a moment, before Mr. D, apparently the only god who didn't leave, walked up to Percy. The water had receded back into the earth.

"Well, you certainly do have a way of announcing your return, don't you, Johnson? Now shoo, you're annoying me. Go to your cabin or canoeing or whatever you kids do at this place."

Percy capped riptide and grinned at Mr. D. "Of course, sir." And he set off down the hill, back into the camp and the world he had been missing for three long years.

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**A/N:** well, how'd you guys like it? not gonna lie, i really enjoyed writing this chapter, and i like how the conversations turned out, but hey, that's not for me to decide, it's up to you, review and let me know what you think


	3. Echoes of Insanity

I'm back. sorry about the update time guys, things got busy with vacations and camps and getting ready for college and such, plus i had my other fanfic to update as well. anyway though, here you go,

enjoy...

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Echoes of Insanity

Sword smashed against sword, sparks striking out across the baked ground. The blades bounced off of one another before spinning and coming back in for another strike. Their wielders stumbled back from the next blow and looked at one another before beginning to laugh. They laughed long and they laughed hard, and the teenager with black hair ended up on the ground, holding his sides. The blonde haired man beside him was doubled up with mirth.

"It's-it's been wa-way too long since I've used a sword," Percy managed to gasp out in between fits of laughter.

Luke chuckled before offering Percy a hand up, which he accepted gratefully. "To be honest, you haven't lost a grain of skill, you're still the only person I know who can keep up with me."

"It's kinda like learning to ride a bike, you just don't forget. It's like it's hardwired in here," Percy said as he tapped his end head with the flat edge of Riptide. Percy inhaled deeply and looked up at the sky over the training ground. "Gods does it feel good to be back out in the open. It sure brings back some memories doesn't it? Us dueling each other like this?"

"Listen, Percy…About everything, I just wanted to say-"

"I know what you want to say, and like I said, forget it. It's done and in the past. I know what you did and how hard you fought against Kronos, and I hold nothing against you."

"But-"

"Drop it, Luke. Unless you want me to be angry and resentful with you?"

"I'll pass, thanks." There was a moment of comfortable silence between the two before Luke spoke up, "Can I, uh, ask you something, Percy?"

"I'm sure you can, provided your voice doesn't suddenly stop working or something," Percy said with a grin.

"Okay, smartass, _may_ I ask you a question?"

"You just did, but shoot anyway."

Luke took a deep breath. "If you can so readily forgive me, than why not Annabeth?" He immediately wished he hadn't asked. Percy's body tiffened. The small sliver of happiness in his eyes instantly drained away, to be replaced with a cold, unfeeling look.

"…Some things are not easily forgiven, Luke."

"But Percy, this is Annabeth we're talking about here! You know how hotheaded and foolish she can get! You were best friends, and I know that you-"

"Enough, Luke," Percy cut him off harshly. "I don't want to discuss this." Luke closed his mouth. "I believe it's nearly time for lunch, let's go." They set off toward the dining pavilion.

When they arrived, the pavilion was already full with loudly talking campers. Percy murmured a goodbye and slid off to the Poseidon table to sit on his own. Luke took a seat at the Hermes cabin and quickly got caught up in the newest plot of the Stoll brothers.

Percy glowered at his roast beef sandwich, not feeling particularly hungry. He heard Grover clop over and plop himself down beside him. "How was sword practice?" he asked while gnawing on a tin can.

"Fine."

"That's good." Grover gave Percy a contemplative look before sighing. "Luke asked about Annabeth didn't he?" Percy gave an almost imperceptive nod. "Just forget about it, k? It's not worth the effort of worrying about it."

"Whatever the goat's saying, I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and agree with him."

Grover bleated indignantly, "Well good afternoon to you too, Thalia."

"Stuff it, Goaty." She sat down across from Percy and looked at him before reaching across the table and grabbing his hand. "Hey, are you ok?"

Percy looked up at her, and she saw an emotion flash through his eyes. Pain? Fear? Or something else? But his eyes had reverted back to the cold emptiness they had been ever since he had come back. He gave her hand a slight squeeze. "I'm fine, promise."

Thalia was doubting this statement more and more every time he told her it though. She could see that Percy really wasn't in any better condition than he was a week ago, when he arrived. If anything, he looked almost worst. His face was haggard and there were deep circles under his eyes, he obviously was not sleeping well. The bandage was still on his left arm, but she still did not know how serious his injury was, because he only ever wore long-sleeved shirts. Even after she had essentially moved into his cabin, he had been sure that she had never seen him shirtless.

Thalia had very much taken on the role of a big, caring sister after Percy had come back. For the first few days, she had hovered close by him to make sure everything was ok. She soon realized that everything was far from ok. It had started when she heard him quietly muttering to himself when no one else was around. She never caught exactly what he was saying, but it didn't sound healthy or happy. She had brushed it off as residual backlash from what he had endured. However, it wasn't long after that until Thalia heard him screaming in the middle of the night. She had dashed out of her cabin and over to his to find him thrashing about on his bed, his body arcing in pain and mouth wide open in a bloodcurdling scream of agony.

She had quickly shaken him awake, only to find herself on the floor with a celestial bronze sword pressing against her neck. But she didn't panic, she had reached up and placed her hands comfortingly on Percy's cheeks, calling his name and letting him know who it was. When his eyes had cleared and he realized where he was and what he had been doing, he had collapsed into a helpless ball and wailed. Thalia had embraced him and stayed with him until he fell asleep and then carefully moved him back to his bed. It was then she took it upon herself to watch over him. She moved her essential items over to his cabin and began spending her nights there. It was because of this that she knew Percy was sleeping horribly.

After the first night, nothing that serious had happened again, but she often woke in the middle of the night to Percy sitting on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands, whispering quietly to himself in a broken voice, "No, oh gods, no. Please, no. Help me, help me. Dad, dad, help. Mom? Mom where are you? Grover? Thalia? _Annabeth?_" On these occasions she had moved so that she was sitting next to him and put a comforting arm around him. She had gently whispered soothing words in his ear. It was breaking her heart to watch him fall apart like this. To be perfectly honest, she was no longer sure Percy was entirely sane. She was beginning to think that the damage done to him might be irreparable.

She had let Nico, Grover, and Luke know what was going on, and they were all as equally concerned as she was. They had no suggestions for how to help him through it either, only that they should continue to be there for him, and never leave him alone. And so they made sure that at least one of them was always with him. It would have been easier if Annabeth could help them, but seeing as how Percy was avoiding her as if she was Medusa and how he closed up all emotional access at the mere mention of her, there was nothing any of them could do about it. Besides, Thalia herself was no longer sure of Annabeth. She had never thought that Annabeth would turn against one of best friend like that, and it had partially unseated Thalia's trust in the daughter of Athena.

Her mind snapped back to the present as Nico took a seat beside her. "Well what's the good news today?"

"The sun's shining?"

"I said _good_ news, Grover," Nico said while shaking his head. "You surface dwellers and your sun, I'll never understand why you love a bright, fiery chariot so much. It actually burns your skin! And yet you love it, makes absolutely no sense."

"Just because we don't have a fetish for all things dead, dark and gloomy like yourself, Nic, doesn't mean we can't enjoy the sun."

Nico stuck his tongue out at her before turning to Percy. "Yo, Perce, feel like tackling the climbing wall after lunch? It's been awhile since I've climbed and having someone there in case I fall would be comforting."

Thalia snorted. "If you fell, would you even die? Wouldn't you just like, appear inside your father's palace or something?"

Nico scowled at her. "Just because I'm a child of Hades doesn't give me ay special privileges, Bianca proved that." Nico's tone had sobered up a bit, but he still gave Percy a small nudge. "Whaddaya say? Climbing wall?"

Percy felt a ghost of a grin pull at his mouth. "Sure."

* * *

"By the Five Rivers of Hades, this is far more difficult than I remember!" Nico screamed as a boulder narrowly missed his head and bounced on down the cliff. He glanced upward, to where Percy was forging his own path up the rocks. "How ya holding, Percy?" A grunt was the only answer he got. "Right then. Be sure not to fall, if you do, Thalia and Grover might laugh at you, despite the fact that you're harnessed in." He looked back over his shoulder, checking that the aforementioned Grover and Thalia, who had decided to tag along, were still there. Nico hoisted himself up to small ledge, where he took a moment to catch his breath and look around to plan his next path. _Hmm…getting past that lava flow there's going to prove difficult. Wonder how Percy did it. Speaking of Percy, where is that Seaweed Brain?_ His question was soon answered when he heard said son of Poseidon start laughing. He shifted his weight and looked up, seeing Percy near the top of the wall.

_Wonder why he's laughing._ As Percy continued to laugh, Nico began to become worried. Something was wrong, there was nothing to laugh at, and Percy's laugh was becoming hysterical. Nico caught a glimpse of his eyes, and saw them wide open. There was no happiness, no mirth in them, only fear and madness. He heard a small metallic click. Before he could identify what is was, he saw the rope that would support Percy's weight if he fell go slack. "Percy!" Nico said loudly. He was really beginning to panic now. Percy began to lean backward. "PERCY!" He roared. He began to throw himself across the rock, trying to reach his friend, but he knew he was too late. Percy let go of the cliff face and began to plummet to the ground, sixty feet below.

He caught Nico's eye on the way down, a huge grin still plastered to his face. Now…now everything would stop hurting. His arm, his chest, his heart, his head. It was the simplest solution ever, how had he not thought it up before? It all made sense, and it was hilarious to him that it had never occurred to him before. He slowly closed his eyes and waited for his release.

* * *

His eyes opened rather reluctantly, and his vision was blurry. He found he couldn't move and that his head was throbbing something fierce. He could hear sounds around him, but they were all terribly muffled, to the point where he could understand nothing. He strained his senses, and suddenly the sounds became clearer and distinguished themselves. There were people speaking at the foot of his bed, people who obviously hadn't noticed he was awake yet. He decided to keep it that way, and listen in on what they were saying.

"-ry, so sorry, I should've noticed sooner what he was doing, I should've-"

"Nic, it's ok, it wasn't your fault."

"Yes it was Thalia. I suggested the climbing wall, and then I wasn't watching close enough. I could've found a way to-"

"Nico, stop it. It's ok, there was nothing you could have done. You couldn't have known he was going to do that, none of us could have."

"Somehow I think there's one person who would've figured it out, Luke. She knows him inside and out, remember?"

An angry braying filled the room. "They're not talking though, remember? But that doesn't matter right now, what matters is _why_?"

There was silence for a few heartbeats before Luke spoke up, "I'm beginning to wonder if Percy's…mentally unbalanced."

"I believe the term is _insane_, Luke," Nico put in.

"It has something to do with what Kronos did to him in Tartarus, I think," Thalia said quietly.

"Thank you, Brigadier General Obvious." There was the distinctive sound of knuckles hitting flesh. "Ow! Dammit, Thalia."

"_Brigadier General_ Obvious?" Luke questioned.

Percy could practically feel Nico's shrug as he replied, "I don't think the poor guy should remain a Captain his whole life, you know? I mean, he's obviously well known so I figure he deserves a promotion."

Percy pictured Thalia's eyes rolling at Nico's explanation. "Anyway, we need to do something about this. It can't continue like this, he'll end up tearing himself apart at this rate."

"We have to keep someone on him at all times, and I don't think we should let him on the wall for awhile."

"I wish we could ask the gods to help us with this, but with Percy's stunt last time, I don't think they'll be in a very helpful mood."

"Hmm…that's a good idea, Grover, though you're right about the gods. Instead, we should get someone really close to him to talk to him."

"You mean Mrs. Jackson?"

"Mhm. Besides, I think it's about time that she knew her son was still alive. I think it's about time we told her the truth of what happened three years ago."

Percy just couldn't keep his mouth shut any longer. He let slip through his lips a single word, "Mom?" The effect was immediate.

Thalia was on him in an instant, her arms around his neck and her face buried in his neck. He suddenly realized she was crying when he felt the dampness on his shoulder. "You idiot," she yelled at him as she brought her face up to glare at him. "Don't you ever, _ever_, do that to us again." She cuffed him up alongside the head before hugging him even harder. "We've lost you once already," she said quietly. "I don't think I'm strong enough to lose you again."

"I-I'm so-"

"Sorry isn't gonna cut it this time, Jackson. You're going to have suffer through whatever I put you through as a result of this."

"But," Percy began before seeing the look in Thalia's eyes. He snapped his mouth shut. There was a moment of silence before he spoke up, "I'm really am sorry though. To all of you."

"It's fine," Nico said. "Besides, I'd still be able to visit you one way or another," he said with a grin.

Thalia stood up and punched him in the shoulder as Grover burst into tears. "I wouldn't though! If you died who'd be my best friend, Percy?"

"Did you forget the empathy link, Grover?" Nico asked as he rubbed his shoulder. "If Percy goes than so do you, so you'd still be able to be best friends in Elysium. _OW!_" Thalia had punched him again.

"You just don't learn do you, Nic?"

Nico glared back before saying angrily, "At least I don't go about taking my female aggression out on anything that looks at me cross-eyed."

"Break it up you two," Luke said as he stepped in between the glaring teenagers.

"Before this escalates into a full-blown war, am I allowed to ask a question?" Percy asked timidly.

"Go for it," Thalia said without taking her eyes off of Nico.

"What was it you guys were saying about my mother?"

_That_ snapped Thalia's head around. "Oh, that. Right. Well, we were thinking that maybe we should take you to see your mother, you know, let her know you're alive."

Percy sat up while his stomach sunk. Something about the way Thalia had said that sentence made him feel uneasy. "What do you mean 'let her know you're alive'?" Suddenly Thalia's shoes were the most interesting thing in the room to her.

"You see, Percy, a-after the battle, when the gods…when the gods…_imprisoned_ you, we couldn't very well tell Mrs. Jackson where you had gone. It would've destroyed her. So we…we…"

"Lied to her," Luke finished for her.

Percy was silent for a moment. "What did you tell her?"

"Well, we didn't really tell her anything. We didn't have to," said Grover. "It was your father. He broke it really gently, you know, said how sorry he was and everything and-"

"Grover. _What did he tell my mom?_"

"That you had died defeating Kronos."

There was silence in the room, and it seemed to stretch on to infinity. No one moved or said anything. Suddenly Percy levered himself out of his bed. The instant he feet hit the floor he was striding to the door.

"Percy?" Grover asked. "Where are you going?"

"To my cabin, to gather some stuff up and get ready. Call Argus, or the Gray Sisters, I don't care. We're going on a little trip. And dress warmly, I hear New York's cold as Hades this time of year."

* * *

Sally Blofis was sound asleep on the couch in the living area of her apartment when an insistent knock at her door jolted her awake. She glanced over at the clock on digital cable box.

_6:45. Paul shouldn't be home yet, he had that special awards program tonight. _ She sat up and stretched as the knocking came again. "I'm coming, I'm coming," she said loudly, wondering who it could be. She hadn't meant to fall asleep, but she had stayed up so late the previous night working on her second novel. The first one had been a surprisingly large success, and her manager had insisted that she write a sequel. She rolled her neck as she got up from the couch. _Sleeping on the couch, not a good idea. Causes a very large crick in the neck. I'm not gonna have time to cook dinner before Paul gets home. _She sighed. _Looks like another pizza night._

The knocking sounded again, this time a little more urgent and loud. "Jeez," she muttered under her breath. "Impatient much are we?" But she still smiled as she walked over to the door, ready to greet whoever it was that had decided to pay her a visit. Had she bothered to look at her visitors through the peep hole, she might have realized that she was, in fact, no where near close to prepared for who had shown up at her door.

"Hello? Is there something I can hel-" Her words were abruptly cut short by a pair of arms being thrown around her and a body being pressed tightly up against her. "Wha-Who-What are you doing?" she spluttered. She placed her hands on the shoulders of the offender and pushed him backward so that she could get a look at him. When she did, she had to do a double take. She knew those green eyes, that black hair, that smell of the sea. Was it really him? They had told her he was dead, and yet…here he was. She felt unshed tears form in her eyes. Crammed into the hallway behind him were five other people, each with varying looks of happiness on their faces. But she had eyes only for the young man in front of her. She whispered quietly, her voice barely audible, "Percy?"

He smiled slightly, and it was then she noticed how much he had changed, how much more sober he was now. But that didn't matter right now. What mattered is that he was here. "I'm back, mom."

She felt the tears spill over as she wrenched him into an embrace and cried with happiness, his own arms tight around her.

He son had returned to her.

* * *

**A/N:** so, love it? hate it? let me know what you think and review please, it'd be duly appreciated. so yeah, not much plot this time, but a little more insight as to exactly how Percy's changed. Anyway, look forward to next chapter, and don't forget, review!


	4. The Feather

I'm back guys, sorry it took me so long, but college offers less time to write than high school did. also, this chapter is almost twice as long as my normal 3300 words

hope you guys enjoy this chapter, should clear some stuff up

so, enjoy...

_

* * *

_

The Feather

_New York City was a war zone. Rubble was strewn across the streets. Some of the buildings were little more than small chunks of concrete and iron anymore. Bridges were torn down, tunnels flooded. Piles of golden dust and bodies of demigods littered the streets, interspersed with the mortals, who lay in sleep. Blood lay in ruby pools next to fallen and scarred weapons of celestial bronze. _

_The fight raging six thousand feet above, on the six hundredth floor of the Empire State Building, echoed loudly in the vast expanse of emptiness the city had become. The battle was intense, and screams of pain and cries of bloodthirst tore through the air._

_The demigods fought with all they had against the forces of Kronos, literally throwing themselves at the advancing army to slow them and prevent them reaching the throne room. It was losing battle. Every minute, every second, the monsters moved ever closer to their goal. It didn't help the half-bloods that the Titan Lord himself was in front of the army, taking large swaths out of the defending force with his scythe._

_Percy rammed his sword through a hellhound, then spun and decapitated a __Laestrygonian. He looked around, surveying the battle through weary eyes. "Shit," he mumbled. Things were not going well; they were slowly being pushed back to the throne room. He looked over and caught Annabeth's eye. She was breathing heavily and bleeding from multiple wounds, but she appeared to be fine. _

_Suddenly Percy felt something slam into his stomach and rebound. He looked into the confused eyes of an enemy demigod, who had just tried to stab the son of Poseidon in the gut. Of course, bearing the Curse of Achilles and having braved the waters of the River Styx, Percy was invulnerable, in all places but that tiny point at the small of his back. He slammed the hilt of Riptide into the demigod's temple, knocking him unconscious. He looked back to Annabeth, who gave him a small nod._

"_FALL BACK!" He cried. The forces of Olympus heard the call and began to work their way backward, to the throne room, where they would defeat Kronos, or make damn impressive last stand. Percy hoped it was the first. _

_Kronos laughed sounded loudly over the sounds of conflict. "Is this the best you can manage, Perseus Jackson? To retreat like a coward and hole up sniveling in your dear parents' throne room?" Percy gritted his teeth, but said nothing, he knew that to respond would be to give Kronos what he wanted. Percy turned his frustration to the advancing army, snatching an arrow whizzing past him out of air, spinning it in his hand, and whipping it back at the demigod who had loosed it. He fell to his kness gasping and clutching at his bleeding stomach. "Why don't you come out and face me, Percy?" Kronos continued. "Or better yet, surrender, throw down your weapons now and swear loyalty for me. Nobody else needs to die. Come to our side, all you foolish half-bloods, and help me create a world where _we_ are the dominant ones, not those immortals who parented you. I promise you a paradise, one in which you will be forever happy. Come, it is not too late, put your weapons aside."_

_Percy looked around him, and noticed several demigods giving each other unsure looks. He realized that after what they had all been through today, Kronos' offer sounded very…appealing. If any of them changed their mind now, all was lost. If even one person gave up and tossed away their weapon, then others would follow suite, and Kronos would only get stronger with each new pledge of fealty, while Percy's force would weaken. _

"_Like Hades we will!" a voice cried out, and Percy was surprised to see Clarisse shovig her way to the front, cussing angrily as she pushed people out of her way. She stopped when she had a clear view of Kronos and slammed her spear against the ground. "If you think for one nanosecond that any of these kids will betray us now, you've got another thing coming, you overgrown clock." Kronos' golden eyes blazed angrily at the insult. _Overgrown clock, _Percy mused to himself as he chuckled, _gotta remember that one. _Clarisse turned her glare to the army standing behind her. "Were any of you idiots actually thinking of accepting his offer? You truly are the most brain-dead people on the planet! He would never uphold his end of the promise, you'd be gutted the instant you crossed to their line, and then he would slaughter whatever amount of your friends remain." Clarisse's small speech seemed to harden the resolve of the army, and they turned eyes filled with a new fire to Kronos and his underlings._

_Kronos was silent for a minute. "…So be it," he finally said. He lifted his arm, and suddenly the color seemed to be leached from everything. The colors were still there, but it was almost as though they were looking at everything through a think sheet of grey glass. Percy tried to run forward, to begin the battle anew, but noticed that his legs were moving as fast as molasses in winter. _

"_Dammit!" his voice was slow and distorted. "He's controlling time," he called to the others, who by now were completely confused by their leader's actions. A few eyes widened in surprise at his words, and a few people gave experimental movements of their own and found that they, too, were being affected. Percy looked up and found a horrible grin plastered across Luke's face; Kronos obviously thought he had won with this._

_But something caught Percy's attention. Kronos' army was moving as slowly as he was. Something was wrong with Kronos' power. The Titan Lord noticed Percy's gaze and glanced down at his forces. His eyes widened in surprise. "What's going on?" he yelled, pinning Percy with an accusing stare, as if it had been the young demigod's fault that his army was moving at a speed previously reserved for turtles and snails. Percy smirked; this was something._

_Kronos growled in frustration before looking back at the creatures under him. Then across to Percy. Then to the creatures under him. "Must be because I'm so close to the gods' seats of power…" he heard him mumble. He looked between the opposing forces one last time, before shrugging and flying off toward the throne room._

"_Annabeth!" Percy called, finding his voice extremely disturbing to listen to. "Grab Thalia and Grover, we're going to the throne room!" She gave what normally would have been a quick thumbs-up and sprinted off into the crowd, though in all likelihood, she was moving at about the pace a baby crawls. "Clarisse," Percy said, turning to her. "You and Nico take over here, do _not_ let them through." She nodded grimly and made a shooing motion at Percy. Percy turned and "ran" toward the throne room, hoping against all hope he could reach it before Kronos had destroyed everything._

_Grover, Annabeth, and Thalia broke from the main force and ran after him, all of them dodging fallen columns and shattered walkways as they moved. As they got further and further from the main battle, they began to move faster, until eventually they were running at normal speed. Percy reached the throne room doors first, and he didn't even bother to stop and yank them open. He rammed his shoulder against them, causing them to burst open. He sprinted into the room and immediately located Kronos, who was busy hacking away at Hephaestus' throne. However, every time he took a swing, a metal limb sprung up and knocked the scythe away. Kronos' eyes burned with frustration as he tried to maneuver around the grasping devices._

_Percy closed the distance between them in a flash and slammed into the Titan Lord, sending them both skidding across the room, scythe flying out of his hands. Percy spun Riptide in his hand and plunged it downward, praying that somehow he'd hit Luke's weak spot. He was disappointed though, when the bronze blade hit Luke's chest and slid off the side, not even leaving the barest scratch. Percy swore. Kronos brought his fist up and caught Percy in the side of head, knocking him off of Luke. Stars exploded in front of Percy's eyes, but he recovered him self, climbing as swiftly as he could to his feet. He felt slightly dizzy. As invincible as he was, a knock like that from a Titan Lord still sent his head spinning._

_Kronos had recovered his weapon and was now fighting both Annabeth and Thalia in close combat while Grover played his pipes furiously. Vines began sprouting from the ground and trying to wrap themselves around the Lord of Time. He easily snapped them, but they served to distract his attention. Percy leapt across the dimly-glowing hearth in the center of the room and joined the fray once more, stabbing and parrying where appropriate. He deflected as many blows as he could, and even took a few on his body to prevent them from reaching his friends. He couldn't let that scythe so much as even scratch them, else their souls would be torn from their bodies. He was the invulnerable one, so he did his damndest to make sure that he would lose no more friends today._

_All at once Kronos planted a foot in Annabeth's stomach while nailing Thalia in the chest with the shaft of the scythe. Both flew off and hit the walls of the throne room. Annabeth gasped in pain while Thalia groaned. Percy only doubled his efforts, trying to make his blade move faster than it ever had before. He could fight on par with Luke, he knew he could. Percy had been the only one who had ever been near his skill, and Luke was the only person who had ever been classed as better than him with a weapon._

"_C'mon, c'mon, c'mon," Percy muttered desperately. He twisted, turned, ducked, jumped, anything to avoid the blows coming at him. He didn't want to even risk Kronos finding his weak spot. All the while, he landed as many blows as he could all over Luke's body, trying to find wherever it was that Luke had anchored himself to the mortal world. The scythe slashed past him, and Percy dodged it, thinking that Luke had himself wide open. He had started to move in for any round of guessing when he felt a chill on his neck. He glanced back over his shoulder to see the scythe coming back, Kronos had been _trying_ to get in behind him. The Titan Lord had to have an inkling of where his weak spot was! _Fuck!_ Percy spun and caught the blade with his left hand, stopping it cold. However, his back was exposed, and he felt something slam into the small of his back, hard, sending him flying across the room. He landed in a heap against the wall. _

"_Percy!" Annabeth yelled, running over and crouching beside him. She placed a hand on his shoulder as he pulled himself into a kneeling position, coughing violently. That kick had hurt a lot more than it should have. It took Percy a second to figure out why. _Shit, he hit the weak spot._ Percy looked up into Kronos' golden eyes. He was smiling happily at Percy, easily blocking the freshly renewed assault of arrows and vines that Thalia and Grover were sending his way. He seemed really happy about something, like a kid who had just been told he didn't have to go to school for the rest of his life…and had been given a lifetime's supply of candy. Yeah, this fucker was happy about something. He looked positively _glowing_ with joy. Percy froze. He wasn't just metaphorically glowing, Luke was actually _glowing_. "What the hell…" Percy murmured._

_Kronos laughed evilly. He held up a hand and turned it over, as if examining the sudden luminescence he was afflicted with. "It looks like it's almost time." He turned to Percy and the others. "Soon I will burn away this useless body and resume my true form, and then, ah then, everything you know will end. Of course, you'll be dead by then, I should have just enough time to kill you before I emerge. After all, I want to kill you, Perseus Jackson, with my own hands. Seeing you disintegrate in the glory of my true form would be such a disappointment, don't you think, _grandson_?"_

_Percy's gut churned as Kronos said that. He had never even considered that Kronos was his grandfather. He shook his head, he knew that Kronos just wanted to distract him, to open up a hole in his defense. "Kill me? With your own hands?" Percy laughed. "That's impossible for two reasons, _grandfather_." Percy spat the word out harshly. "One, even if you do manage to kill me, guess what? They're Luke's hands, not yours. Two, you can't kill me. You forget that I took a nice little dip in the Styx?"_

_Kronos laughed. Percy felt a twinge of doubt. "You see, the thing is, little half-blood, that I can kill you, because I know where your weak spot is." Percy's eyes widened. "I see the fear in your eyes. Oh yes, Perseus Jackson, I know where it is. The spot that Nakamura almost got, the spot that I just kicked. I wondered why it felt so different when my foot made contact." He cackled evilly. "It's over!" he cried. He triumphant yell died rather quickly though. His glow was getting brighter, but Kronos suddenly keeled over and grabbed his head. "You fool!" he yelled. "Let me finish this now!"  
_

_Percy's heart leapt into his throat and he looked at Annabeth. Was it possible? Was Luke fighting Kronos' control? Either way, Percy saw this as a golden opportunity. He climbed to his feet and began to move toward Kronos, but felt a tugging at his sleeve. He turned, only to be met with two worried seas of gray._

"_Percy…" Annabeth whispered._

"_Annabeth, we can't go over this now. We don't have the time. I could end this now."_

_She shook her head. "That's not what I was going to say."_

_Percy hesitated. "You mean, this…isn't about Luke?"  
_

"_No."_

"_Then…"_

"_Percy," Her arms were suddenly around him, her head buried in his chest, "be careful, please. I can't lose you." Percy was stunned, but he still had the sense to wrap his arms around her back. _

"_I'll be fine, Annabeth," he whispered. "I promise."_

_They broke apart, and before Percy could move, Annabeth leaned up and placed a quick kiss on his lips. He looked stunned, and his mouth opened and closed a few times. "For luck," she said quietly, giving him a small smile._

_Percy's face split in a grin, remembering how had asked her for a kiss for luck earlier, only to be turned him down. He turned around and ran straight at Kronos, who had dropped his scythe, still trying to reassert control over Luke's mind. When Kronos saw him approaching he screamed, "NO!" and threw out of his arm. A huge force slammed into Percy and sent him backward. When he hit the ground, all the air rushed from his lungs, leaving him floundering for oxygen for a second. He had let go of Riptide when Kronos' wave had hit him. He had no idea where it was, but it didn't like it was going to reappear back in his pocket fast enough. _

"_Percy!" Annabeth cried, worry coloring her voice. But Percy was on his feet already. So was Luke, scythe gripped tightly in his hand, the glow radiating from his body growing stronger and stronger._

_His teeth gritted, Kronos pulled the scythe back and threw it at Percy. Percy narrowly dodged it, rolling out of the way just as the blade flashed over head. Something wasn't right. Why would Kronos throw the scythe, knowing that Percy's weak spot was on his back? There was absolutely no way he was going to hit it when Percy was facing him like this._

"_Percy…" The voice sounded strained, and Percy's head immediately whipped around to Luke, standing there with a pained expression in his blue eyes. _Blue_ eyes. They weren't golden anymore._

"_Luke?"_

"_Percy, hurry. W-We don't have much time. Please, use the scythe. My-my weak spot," Luke said faintly, unbuckling his armor and revealing a small area of skin under his arm. Percy stood frozen, not knowing what to do. "Percy, hur-" Luke gasped and fell to his knees again. He looked up, his eyes flashing between gold and blue. "He's trying to take back control. Percy, do it now!"_

_Percy reached down and picked up the scythe, once the sword known as Backbiter, an abomination of steel and celestial bronze. Percy took a few hesitant steps forward. This was it, all he had to do was slash Luke in that little patch of skin, and it'd be over, everything would be over. All he had to do was kill Luke. And then it hit him. This wouldn't end it. No, because Kronos' scythe didn't kill people in the conventional way. It didn't draw blood, didn't sever muscle and tissue. No, it separated someone's soul from their body. If he slashed Luke, then the only person he would kill would be Luke. Kronos would still be inhabiting the body, and after a few moments, Kronos would take over. If it had been a normal blade, if would work fine. It would kill the body to strike the Achilles' heel, the body, and everything inside of it, including both souls. But, since it was Luke's body, not Kronos', to cut him with the scythe would only kill Luke's soul, and Kronos would win with no more resistance against him._

_Percy didn't know what to do, even though he knew this was it. This was the decision the prophecy had foretold, here and now. He had to choose. The next ten seconds would determine whether Olympus stood or fell. He had reached Luke now. One of the last lines of the prophecy suddenly sprung out at him._

The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap

_And just like that, Percy knew exactly what he had to do. He raised the scythe. Luke looked up at him and smiled weakly._

"_Thank you, Percy," he said while closing his eyes. Percy moved the scythe, cutting into the weak spot. He gasped in pain and fell forward onto his hands and knees, the scythe falling to the ground with a clatter as he did._

_Luke's eyes snapped open as Annabeth screamed, "Percy!" She ran forward and skidded to his side. "What the Hades are you thinking?" she cried, tears pouring down her face._

_Percy reached out and grasped her hand before speaking very quietly, "Just be my lifeline, Annabeth. I'll come back." Grover and Thalia arrived just as Percy slumped over._

"_Percy…" Annabeth sobbed, pulling his head into her lap. Grover collapsed to the ground and Thalia stood trembling. _

"_You!" she spat harshly, turning to Luke, only to jump back. "What the Zeus?!"_

_Annabeth looked up, and saw Luke was no longer glowing, rather, he was lying on the ground convulsing. Words were pouring out of his mouth, in three different voices._

"_-ell are you doing in my body you fucking idiot?!"_

"_Savi-"_

"_I'll destroy the bot-"_

"_-ur ass, you stupid bastard."_

_She gasped and looked at Thalia. "W-Was that Percy's voice?" Thalia nodded numbly. "H-How-?" And then she looked down, Percy's last words to her suddenly making sense. "Be your lifeline, huh?" she whispered. "I think I can handle that." She grasped his hand even harder._

"_Help me here."_

"_You fools, you cannot-"_

"_Shut up," two voices commanded simultaneously from Luke's mouth._

"_It's my body, I'll damn well do what I please."_

"_Concentrate!"_

"_I am!"_

"_It'll never work!"_

"_We told you to shut up!"_

"_I am the Titan Lord, I am Kr-"_

"_I don't give a damn who you are, you're leaving my body now!"_

"_Get. OUT!"_

_And suddenly a great force exploded through the room, accompanied by a blinding light. When it cleared, Luke was no longer thrashing or speaking, but laid very still. Percy was in a similar state. Neither appeared to be breathing._

"_Percy," Annabeth pleaded, leaning her face over his. "Percy." Tears begin to drip onto his face. "Please come back, Percy."_

_And suddenly he drew a deep, stuttering breath, as Luke did the same. The boys' eyes opened at the same time. Luke sat up and looked around, while Percy just stared at Annabeth. He threw her a lop-sided grin. "Told ya I'd come back."_

_She gave him a watery smile as she brushed some hair out of his eyes. "Yeah, you did."_

_Percy sat up and glanced over at Luke, who was now watching him. "Percy-" he started._

"_You've got some pretty heavy stuff going on up there, you know that?" Percy interrupted, tapping his head. "You might wanna get that checked out."_

_Luke grinned weakly at him. "You might wanna look at get some mental help yourself, Mr. I'm-gonna-go-plunge-into-someone-else's-body."_

_Percy shrugged. "Seemed like a good idea at the time."_

_Luke was silent a minute. "Thank you, Percy," he finally said. "That was…ridiculously reckless and foolish, but probably the bravest thing ever. I didn't think I could be saved, I didn't even want to be saved. But, now, looking back, I'm glad you did. To die with that bastard would've really sucked."_

_Percy waved his statement away. "I was following the prophecy. Besides, you were fighting him this entire time. It's why his powers weren't working correctly, and why I had the chance to oust him from your body. Plus forcing him out would've been impossible without both of us." Percy's tone grew colder. "That doesn't mean I've forgiven you, you've still got a lot to make up for, especially Beckendorf and that pit scorpion."_

"_And I haven't forgiven you either," Thalia leaned down, grabbed the front of Luke's shirt and drug him to his feet. _

"_Thalia, I-" _

_He never finished, Thalia's hand came around so fast that there was no way he could've stopped it or moved out of the way. The crunch resounded brilliantly in the throne room, and Luke stumbled back, grasping his jaw. Thalia flexed her hand, punching him had hurt a bit, but she didn't care. She advanced on Luke, who shied away from her, expecting another fist to coming flying at him. Instead, he felt arms wrap around him and the air being crushed from his lungs. "Th-Thalia?"_

"_Don't you ever do something like that again, do you hear me? Never!" Luke swallowed and nodded. "I'll skin you alive next time you do. You got lucky this time, because Percy's a blockhead." At a sound of protest from said son of Poseidon, she added with a smile, "Given, a brave, strong, caring blockhead, but still a blockhead. We almost lost you, though, so no repeats."_

_It was at this point that the rest of the demigod force of Camp Half Blood burst through the throne room doors, bristling with weapons and eyes blazing, ready for a fight. Percy grinned and waved merrily from his sitting position, and laughed when he saw some of the looks the campers gave him, like he was insane. But he didn't care, it was over, finally, the war was over. Luke was alive. Kronos was defeated. Olympus was safe. All in all, it was a damn good day._

_Clarisse marched over and glared at them as Annabeth helped Percy to his feet. "Well?" she spat our harshly._

"_What do you think? It's done, Kronos is no longer a threat."_

"_You killed him?"_

"_You can't kill an immortal, Clarisse," Annabeth said.  
_

"_No, Percy drove him from my body," Luke stated, walking up to join them._

_Clarisse leapt back, "Castellan, what are you-"_

"_It's fine, Clarisse. Without him we wouldn't have beaten Kronos."_

"_I still don't trust him, Jackson."_

"_That's fine, I don't either, just don't gut him alive, k?" She grunted. "By the way, how'd things go on your end?"_

"_We're here aren't we?"_

"_The enemy demigods?"_

_Clarisse whistled, and out of the crowd came Nico, leading a line of undead minions, each carrying a half-blood, bound and battered, but alive. Nico walked up to Percy and smirked at him. "So you won then, eh?"_

"'_Course I did."_

"_Bet you're glad you bathed in the Styx."_

"_Yeah, I'm glad I came up with that idea."_

"_Yeah- wait, hey!" Percy laughed and ruffled Nico's hair, while the son of Hades just glared at him. _

"_Oh calm down, I was joking. Yes, it really did help, and it was a good idea."_

"_Damn straight it was," Nico breathed. "Anyway, so what are we going to do with the-" Nico's words suddenly died in his throat as his dark eyes widened in surprise at something over Percy's shoulder. "What in Asphodel…"_

_Percy spun around, only to be swept off his feet into a large golden light. A voice laughed from all directions. "Now, Perseus Jackson, you may have stopped me, but I will ruin your life. I will turn them all against you, I will make you suffer." And suddenly images and began to flood his mind. He screamed; having information forced into your head was excruciating._

"_Percy!" his friends cried, but he couldn't hear them._

"_Now you understand. Olympus isn't safe. You know what you must do to make it safe. You know what you must sacrifice."_

"_No," Percy whimpered._

"_It's unfair, isn't it? You've done so much, and yet, you must give up everything. Kronos laughed. "You have to, and you know you will."_

"_I don't want to."_

"_It doesn't matter. You will anyway. I've now guaranteed that I will see you, Perseus Jackson. And when I do, you will not enjoy it." He cackled one last time, and the light faded, dumping Percy to the floor. _

_His friends were around him in an instant, helping him up, asking if he was ok. He stood shakily, his limbs trembling. He looked to the prisoners and felt like he was going to be sick. He looked away. _I don't want to, I don't want to._ Tears began to stream down his face. _

"_Percy?" Annabeth asked worriedly. "Percy, are you ok?"_

_He looked at her before whispering so quietly that she was the only one who could hear him, "I'm sorry. Please forgive me."_

"_Wha-" Annabeth started but Percy was already moving, toward the prisoners._

"_It's alright, Percy," Clarisse explained, as she saw how he was staring at them so intensely. "They're unarmed, and they surrendered to us and promised to follow the gods. A few of them even helped us near the end. They're on our side, trust me. There's no need to-" Clarisse suddenly shouted as Percy pulled Riptide from his pocket and uncapped it. "-threaten…them…" Clarisse's voice slowly died from angry to frightened awe as Percy slashed riptide through the nearest demigods neck, cleaning severing his head._

_Thalia, Luke, Nico, and Grover gasped, and Grover slid to the ground. Annabeth just watched in horrified silence as Percy stabbed the next half-blood through the chest, she slumped to the ground, lifeless. She couldn't comprehend, what was he doing. Tears tracked their way down her face as she watched Percy slaughter the prisoners. What had happened to him? He would never do this. Who was he? "Percy…" But that person wasn't Percy. That person coated in blood, wide-eyed, tears still streaming down his face. That was bloodthirsty murderer. Nico and Luke snapped themselves out of their stunned states and made to stop Percy. Nico motioned, and his skeleton warriors began to close on the son of Poseidon, while Luke ran at him, Thalia, who had also recovered, at his side. Grover brought his pipes feebly to his lips and tried to play a tune, but it was just a bunch of noise. He was too confused, too mortified by what was happening to play anything._

_Annabeth watched as Percy threw Luke off his back, slamming him to the ground. He watched as he bound Thalia in ropes of blood from his fallen victims. Watched as he cut down demigod and skeleton alike, picking up one of the warriors weapons and whipping it at Nico. The blunt end caught him in the head, and he was knocked out. His minions disappeared. Watched as he grabbed Clarisse's spear and turned it against her, knocking her out with her own voltage._

_Percy was so tired, so frustrated, so depressed. He was crying, but he couldn't stop, he couldn't stop this, else everything he had fought for would be destroyed. All his friends would die, and the gods wouldn't stand a chance. Percy slashed through a half-blood and turned expecting to impale the girl who had been tied behind him. When he turned, he saw that she was free, and that she was looking at him. He froze, Riptide hovering out in front of him. She smiled, violet eyes sparkling at him. She slowly walked forward, impaling herself on the bronze sword. She reached up and gently rested her hand on his cheek. He flinched, but she just smiled even wider. _

"_Thank you, Percy," she spoke, her voice gentle. "I know what you're giving up by doing this. I didn't want this, they forced it on me. Thank you, for freeing us." She leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek, and then slumped forward, dead. Percy slowly pulled Riptide free, fresh tears clouding his vision. He looked up and noticed the last prisoner sprinting for the doors out of the throne room, ignoring the fact that he was plunging through the ranks of the camp's forces. Percy cocked back his hand and threw Riptide. _

_Several things happened at once. _

_As soon as Riptide had left Percy's hand, Luke grabbed him from behind and slid his arms under Percy's. Riptide pierced the demigod's chest just as the doors burst open, revealing the gods, returning triumphant from defeating Typhon. Poseidon, being the hero who had made the decisive difference (at his son's prompting) was leading, and thus was sprayed with blood when Percy's sword hit its target. His eyes widened in surprise at the scene that met him._

_Maybe it was the sight of his father covered in blood, he didn't know. But at that instant something snapped inside of Percy. He began screaming incoherently, thrashing and writhing about in Luke's hold, trying to break free, to do anything. Nothing made sense in his mind anymore. Diamond-edged fragments of thoughts were caught in a vortex of pain so absolute Percy felt like he was drowning. And he didn't know what it felt like to drown. And then, he didn't know why, but he started laughing. High, broken, hysterical laughter. Despite the blood covering him, despite the arms that gripped him roughly, despite the tears flowing down his face, he laughed, and laughed, and laughed. He didn't know why, he didn't care. Maybe it was his body's defense, because he no longer had control of his body at all. He had retreated to his mind, though that place was no more comforting than the outside world. Every thought, every action. Everything hurt. And he knew it was only going to get worse._

_The next time Percy became aware of himself the gods were sentencing him to Tartarus, thought Poseidon protested angrily. He looked around the throne room. He wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed since the battle, but the room was pristine again. Percy was barely aware when his friends came up to him one by one to say their goodbyes. Grover was first, he hugged Percy, and bawled horribly. Percy looked at him with dead eyes and told him quietly to sever their empathy link. He didn't want him suffering what he was going to suffer._

_Surprisingly, Clarisse was next. She stomped up to him and glared at him before saying in a threatening voice, "Don't you go dying until we figure out what the fuck's going on, Jackson. I still have to kick your ass many more times before we're through."_

_Then Nico stepped up. "I'll visit you as often as I can, though I'm half inclined not to, after that crack in the skull." He grinned, but upon seeing that Percy's face remained emotionless, it slowly faded away. "We'll get you out, Percy, I swear." He shook Percy's hand and backed away. _

_Next was Thalia, who threw her arms around his neck. "Take care of yourself, alright? I'll come visit with Nico when I can, I swear. Goodbye, Percy." She lightly kissed his cheek. "I _will_ see you free again, I promise."_

_It was Luke next. He gripped Percy's shoulder. "Regardless of whether you've forgiven me or not, I'm going to do my best to get you out of there. I know that Kronos still had something up his sleeve, and I know that what you did somehow stopped it." He clapped his shoulder and joined the others._

_Percy raised his head and looked around, expecting one more person to bid him farewell. When he saw her, see was standing on the other side, staring at him with unreadable gray eyes. He slowly approached her. She flinched every step he took, and when he got closer he expression became scared and angry. "Get away from me," she hissed. "Go to Tartarus where you belong." The small, remaining portion of his world shattered. His mind broke, and he plunged once again into unconsciousness. _

_The next time his mind woke up, he was in Tartarus, and Kronos was smiling over him. It was then that his suffering truly started, the only thing to keep him company the deep sense of betrayal.

* * *

_

There was silence around the room as the demigods completed the tale. Percy had told the majority of it, but everyone had even added their own bits. Annabeth squirmed uncomfortably, not only because she had just been painfully of how badly she had abandoned Percy, but because something was wrong with Percy's story. The great shining light that had caught Percy, and his apology to her, she didn't remember them. Something was wrong.

"So that's it then?" Sally Blofis questioned quietly. She had her arm around Percy, as if afraid that to let him go would be to lose him again.

Thalia looked down at her shoes. "We're sorry Mrs. Jackson. Lord Poseidon thought it'd be better if we told you he was gone, rather than tell you he was suffering at the hands of Kronos."

Sally stared at her. She wasn't sure what to say. She wasn't sure if she was angry or not. All she knew was that the horrible, wretched emptiness that had settled in her gut since the day the blue lights failed to appear at the top of the Empire State Building was gone. Percy was here, back, with her. She was still finding it hard to believe. She was going to have to have his grave removed from the cemetery.

As joyed as she was, the story disturbed her, knowing that her son had lost sanity, has gone on a killing spree. She could see in his eyes that he was still unstable, that everything still was not right with him.

She looked at Percy before asking quietly, "So what was it that Kronos showed you, dear?"

Percy stiffened. Sally stroked his hair, and his eased up a little. "He showed me the faces of fifty demigods, the ones that I killed. He then showed me the faces of fifty minor gods, and explained that in each of those demigods resided a minor god. They had followed Kronos' lead in possessing bodies. They were going to sneak their way into the throne room under the guise of captured soldiers, then transform and destroy the seats of power, ruining the gods and everything we had fought for."

A stunned silence met his words. "Y-You mean…that's why you…why you…" Nico stuttered.

"Yes," Percy said, his voice low.

"Why didn't you tell else before?" cried Grover.

"I couldn't. My mind was too far gone."

"That's what mother meant when she said you saved Olympus twice! Oh gods, Percy you did it all for us! I'm so so-"

"What I don't understand," Percy said coldly, talking over Annabeth as if she had never opened her mouth, "is why nobody realized that Kronos was behind it, what with the shining light and all."

"Um…Percy…" Nico said nervously, licking his lips. "We…we didn't…"

"We didn't see that light Percy," Luke took over for him, "and neither did Annabeth hear your apology to her before you killed the demigods. She would've mentioned it if she had, I'm sure."

"You…you didn't see it? But…But I know you did, you all called out my name when I was caught."

"Perhaps I can shed some light on that," said a new voice, from a man now sitting beside Percy on the couch as if he had been there the whole time. He was wearing sandals, tropical shirts, and Bermuda shorts, despite the fact that it was almost winter. His dark beard was well trimmed. His sea green eyes sparkled.

"Dad!" Percy exclaimed at the same time Sally spluttered out "Poseidon!"

"Lord Poseidon!" the other demigods cried, bowing.

The God of the Sea waved his hands in front of him. "Settle down. Everybody just sit back down. Hello, Percy, good to see you."

Percy smiled, "Good to see you too, dad."

"Now, son, what you did on Half-Blood Hill was foo-"

"I don't care. You were the only one who was opposed to sending me to Tartarus, aside from Mr. D., who was just apathetic. You were only one who worked with my friends to try and get me out for three years. You're the only one who deserves my respect."

"Yes, well, making enemies of my siblings may not have been the best decision, but," he shrugged, "what's done is done. Anyway, yes, the reason you have different accounts of that day. Let me tell you all about a Titan, a Titan known as Mnemosyne."

* * *

**A/N:** So yeah, just a nice explanation of what went down and why all this is happening, hope you guys enjoyed, review please, let me know what you think, ask me questions or anything

oh, and the title, in case you were wondering, is taken from 'the feather that broke the camel's back'


	5. Reward

HOLY HOT DICKS FROM HELL, AN UPDATE!!

sorry this one took me so long guys, but i am alive still, so, without any further delay

enjoy...

* * *

Reward

"Mnemosyne? The Titan of Memory?" Trust it to Annabeth to know what Poseidon was talking about.

"What does a Titan have to do with Percy?" Grover asked.

Poseidon held up a hand to forestall further questioning. "I'm getting to that." The demigods fell silent again. "Now, as Annabeth said, Mnemosyne is the Titan of Memory. And, despite fathering children with my brother-"

"She had children with dad?!" Thalia exclaimed. Nico snorted and Luke rolled his eyes.

Poseidon looked at her and replied, "Yes, relationships between the immortals are not limited to gods, goddesses, and mortals. It was the muses that Zeus and Mnemosyne produced, one of which bears the same name as you." Thalia looked taken aback for a second. She had known that there was a muse that shared her name, but she had not known that the goddess had been born of an affair with a Titan. "As I was saying. Despite the fact that she and my brother had a relationship, she obviously still harbors some sort of residual negative feelings toward us for claiming the throne from her brother, our father."

"Kronos sent out envoys to her as well, didn't he?" Percy suddenly asked. "He managed to get almost all of the minor gods on his side, and he had a few of the Titans with him too, Atlas, Hyperion, Prometheus. It would make sense that he got the rest of his siblings to work with him as well."

"Yes, he must've. None of us ever really considered the minor Titans a very big threat, which was a mistake we regret making. Mnemosyne was once in charge of all things memory related, and whenever we took over from Kronos, no one truly replaced her position, and thus her power barely waned. What we figure is that Kronos told her not to act unless he was defeated. So, when Percy finished him, she moved."

"What did she do, exactly?" Nico asked.

"What she does best. She adjusted everyone's memories. She made all of you forget the great light. She made Annabeth forget Percy's apology. She eliminated that whole small span of time, and thus, everyone only saw Percy going crazy and attacking the demigods without provocation or reason."

"Kronos was counting on that. He told me that he had guaranteed he would see me again. He knew that I'd be imprisoned to Tartarus, with him. It's what he wanted. It's why he told Mnemosyne not to act unless he was defeated. It was just some sort of back up plan for revenge should he fail." Percy snorted. "Well, _that_ plan worked out quite spectacularly in his favor."

Poseidon turned to Percy, "Son, I'm so-"

Percy held up his hand. "You have no reason to apologize, dad. You did your best to keep me out of there."

"But still, my siblings are concerned-"

"Concerned?" Percy laughed. "If they're so damn concerned, why aren't they coming down here themselves to apologize?"

The sky rumbled ominously. Thalia looked up and murmured, "Cool it, dad. Kid deserves to rant a little."

"Percy, I understand how resentful you must feel toward them, but please, do no more to intentionally provoke them. Incurring the wrath of an immortal always results in horrible tragedy, and I rather think you've suffered enough of that." Percy huffed and leaned back against the couch.

"I'll do my best," he mumbled.

Poseidon smiled. "That'll do fine."

Annabeth coughed lightly. "Lord Poseidon, did you come here just to tell us about Mnemosyne adjusting our memories that day? You could've just Iris Messaged us for that."

"As always, daughter of Athena, you are sharp." Annabeth blushed slightly and glanced down at her feet. "You are correct, however. I have come not only to tell you all the truth of that day, but also to ask your opinion as to _why_ it happened."

"What do you mean?" Luke questioned. "I thought we determined that it was so that he could get revenge on Percy for defeating him?"

"We are concerned that he might have been after something else with the memory modification."

"What else could he have been after? Knowing Kronos, revenge would rate pretty high on his list of stuff to get done, wouldn't it?"

"True, Nico," Percy said as he stood and began to pace, "but there's something that would rate even higher."

"The destruction of Olympus," Annabeth breathed.

"To destroy Olympus was his highest ambition," Percy stated as he continued to pace, not appearing bothered by the fact that he had just repeated Annabeth's thought. "To the extent that he even had a backup plan in case he failed."

"The minor gods housed in the half-bloods," Luke offered.

Percy nodded. "So why," he stopped pacing and stood in the center of the room, "would our dear Titan Lord ruin his own plan just to get me into Tartarus with him?"

"Mmm…something's not right," Thalia said. She placed a hand on her forehead as her brow furrowed in concentration. A few moments later she threw up her hands in frustration. "I've got nothing. It's too early to use my brain this hard."

"…Thalia, its 8 o'clock in the evening, what in Hades do you mean 'it's too early'?"

"Listen, Nic, when you're immortal, and hunting mythical beasts, your sleep schedule gets a little skewed, all right?"

"A little?"

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Fine, _really_ skewed, happy?"

"Meh."

"Anyway, back to the present situation," Percy interrupted. "We still need to figure out what Kronos' true objective was, if there was one."

_There wasn't one, just forget about it._

Percy raised a hand to his face. _ Shit, not now_. The voices were back. Well, voice, singular. A very particular voice. It belonged to him, Percy. Only, darker. Much, much darker. He wasn't sure if this meant that someone had managed to get in his head during those three years of torture and was now manipulating his thoughts, or if it was just the voice that his broken mind used to voice the thoughts from the darker portion of his psych. He wasn't sure if the voice was even real, or just a fabrication of his subconscious trying to tell him to stay away from anything that could result in more pain. Either way, all he really knew for a fact was that the voice had only appeared after Kronos had done what he had done to his arm, and that the voice was very, very persuasive. Most of what it said made perfect sense to Percy. He hand moved to grip his upper left arm. Maybe that was why he had thought it a brilliant idea to try and kill himself today. He didn't even know if his thoughts were his own anymore.

_There's no hidden meaning_, the voice whispered, _nothing special at all._

Ah, of course, that made sense. That's why it was so hard to think of something, because they were searching for something nonexistent. Kronos had just been trying to get Percy into Tartarus so he could take his revenge.

"Percy?" His mother's voice suddenly snapped him out of his reverie, and he realized the voice had once again been dictating his thoughts. "Are you ok?"

Percy nodded, though his mother did not look convinced. She reached out and gripped his sleeve. "I'm fine, mom." He had recited this line countless times to Thalia, Grover, Luke, and Nico. It was slightly annoying to have to lie to them, but he couldn't very well tell them what was going on in his head. They had looked skeptical each time he had said it, but they hadn't delved any deeper. Sally, instead of pressing further, just gave a small tug on his jacket, and Percy took this to mean he should sit back down. As he lowered himself onto the couch, his mother's arm once again protectively encircled his shoulders. Her hand began to lightly stroke his hair again. Most nineteen year old males would complain loudly if there mother were to do this to them, especially in front of their friends. But Percy didn't mind, he actually quite enjoyed it. He had been kept from his mother's caring touch for three long, hard years, and he had hated it.

Sally spoke up again, "Could it be possible that Kronos really _did_ just want to get Percy thrown into Tartarus?"

"I don't see why he would do that though," Luke said.

A thought suddenly struck Percy. "Unless he wanted to turn me into a weapon to use against the gods."

"What?!" Annabeth cried.

"Percy, what are you talking about?" Nico asked.

"Think about it. Kronos wanted to destroy Olympus, so he wouldn't just forfeit a chance like that. Which means that the issue with both the demigods and Mnemosyne would have to contribute to some other plan of his, and since the direct outcome of those was me getting thrown into Tartarus, its possible that that somehow plays a factor. It would make sense that way."

"No way," Annabeth said.

"You really think you've been changed into something dangerous, Percy?" Poseidon looked concerned.

Percy shrugged, avoiding looking at the anxious look on his mother's face. "I have no clue. I did my utmost to stay detached from what they were doing to me down there. They could've cast some magic on me or implanted some type of bomb in me, I'm not sure."

"If…if that's true, then what would we do?"

Percy snorted at Luke's question before answering in a rather bitter voice. "You could always just throw me into some deep, dark place somewhere, and never let me out. That way there's be no risk of me turning against everyone. Besides," he shrugged again, "I'm used to it, at this point."

"Jackson…" Thalia growled warningly. "You better stop that line of thinking right now. You're not going through that again."

The voice was laughing. _Well, there is another way._

Percy chuckled darkly. "Well, there is another way."

"And that would be?"

The words came out of his mouth at the same time the voice spoke them in his head. "_Kill me_."

"Percy!" Annabeth cried out, horrified. His mother made a choking sound while Poseidon's grip on the arm of couch tightened considerably.

Thalia jumped to her feet and had taken two steps across the room, presumably to slap Percy, when the door to the apartment swung open to reveal a rather harried-looking Paul Blofis.

"Sally! I'm sorry the program ran so long, the chairman just droned on fore-" he stopped mid-sentence and froze in place, his eyes soaking in the scene before him. They visibly widened as they swept first to the five demigods scattered over the room, then to Poseidon, before finally resting on Percy.

"Wh-What? Percy? I-Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me Paul."

"I…but…how…"

"It's a long story, and I think its best if I leave it to my mom and dad to tell you about it. Adults speaking amongst adults and all of that. I've been away from my city for three years, and I feel like visiting it tonight. Besides, I think I need to cool my head a bit." No matter how casual he made it sound, Poseidon and Sally knew what he was doing. He was leaving it up to them to decide what exactly Paul should know, and how much he should be told. He was getting the other half-bloods out of the way in order to make that go smoother too. Percy got to his feet and walked over to where Paul stood frozen just inside the room. He held out his hand to the man, who numbly shook it, shock still evident on his face. Percy lowered his voice so that only Paul could here. "It looks like you've been taking care of my mother well for these three years. Thank you, Paul." He called back into the room. "Well, you guys coming?" He slipped past Paul, grabbed his shoes from where they rested near the door, and put them on. Percy was pulling on his gloves when the others got up and followed his example.

"So, Percy," Nico asked as he adjusted a black, knit cap sporting a skull over his head, "where are we off too?"

"Not a friggin' clue." With that he opened the door and stepped out of the apartment.

* * *

"So, by 'not a friggin' clue' you actually meant 'I know exactly where we're going'?"

"No, this place just happened to be along the route I was taking, Thalia." They were seated in a small Italian restaurant, nestled away in a back corner booth.

"Uh-huh, right." He stuck his tongue out at her. "You're such a child."

Nico snorted into his orange soda. "Cause you're one to talk, Thal."

Thalia cracked her knuckles threateningly. "Sorry, what was that, di Angelo?"

"I said-"

"Enough, you two," Luke said, though there was a smile on his face. "We don't need any brawling demigods being reported on the 11 o'clock news tonight."

"But it'd be interesting to see what the Mist would come up with to cover for Nico's skeleton soldiers." Luke just shook his head, chuckling. Thalia turned to the daughter of Athena sitting on her left, who had barely spoken a word since they had entered. "…Annabeth."

Said girl's head snapped up at the sound of her name. "What?"

"Nothing, you've just been silent this whole time, and that's not you. Usually, you'd be boring the ever-loving shit out of us with some sort of architecture facts or something."

Annabeth glanced at Percy, who had begun to stare pointedly out the window whenever Thalia had said Annabeth's name. "I'm not sure present company would enjoy that very much."

Thalia looked between the two several times before giving a wide stretch and standing. "Well, Luke and I are gonna go pay the bill up front. Because you and I have the most money, Luke," Thalia added when she saw his expression. "And I think Nico was complaining rather loudly about needing to use the restroom just a few minutes ago, so off you go, Nic."

Nico stared rather dumbly at her. "What?"

"For Zeus' sake." Thalia leaned down, grabbed Nico's arm and dragged him to his feet. She gave him a shove toward the restrooms and glared at him until he moved, still oblivious as to what was going on. Grover followed him, mumbling some sort of excuse. Thalia winked at Percy and Annabeth. "Be good you two." She turned and headed to the counter with Luke in tow, leaving in her wake a very strained and awkward silence between Percy and Annabeth.

Truth be told, Annabeth had already tried twice tonight to apologize for what she had done to Percy. Each time he had blown her off and talked to someone else. Well, now there was no one left but them, so maybe this time she could actually get through to him.

"Percy?" There was no answer, he just continued to stare out the window. "I don't care if you don't say anything, but please listen to what I say. Please." Again, no reply. No movement, no indication whatsoever that showed he was listening. Annabeth felt tears form in the corners of her eyes, but she held them in. She was strong, she was a daughter of Athena. "Percy, I'm so sorry about what I did to you. I should never have doubted you. I should have believed in you. I shouldn't have told you those things. I feel horrible. But…Percy, I didn't just hate you for no reason. " She flinched when she said 'hate.' "I...haven't told anyone this, mostly because I thought they already knew…Mnemosyne must have adjusted my memories. You see, all I saw before you attacked the half-bloods was you looking at me and smiling horribly. Then you laughed and went crazy." She gripped her hands tightly. "I-I thought you really did enjoy killing them, that…that that was the real you. So I…" Her voice caught in her throat and choked her. "Percy, please…please forgive me." The son of Poseidon did not reply, but rather continued to try and burn holes through the glass with his gaze. The tears began to track down her face. "Perc-"

But she was cut off by the return of Nico, who was wiping his hands on his pants and grumbling about blow dryers being "not even strong enough to move a piece of paper." Annabeth quickly ducked her head, not wanting Nico to see her crying. Nico, for once seeming to sense he had intruded on something, scratched the back of his head. "Er… am I…interrupting something?"

"No," stated Percy coldly, having finally turned from the window. "I think its time to head back to the apartment though." He slid out of the booth and began toward the front door, where Thalia and Luke were waiting. Grover had joined them as well.

"Um…" Nico hesitated, glancing at Annabeth. "Okay…"

"So, Percy," Thalia started when they reached her, "you decide whether you're going back to camp or staying with your mom yet?"

"I'm staying here for a while."

"Figured as much. 'Course, we'll have to bring our sleeping gear over."

"Yeah…wait, what?"

Thalia rolled her eyes. "You didn't honestly think we were gonna let you out of our sight, did you?"

"I thought that-"

"The correct answer is 'hell no.' Especially with all that 'kill me' talk from before. Which, by the way," Thalia punched him on the shoulder, "no more of that, else next time I won't go easy."

Nico shook his head. "Can't say you didn't bring this on yourself, Percy."

"You just did," Luke threw in.

"Smartass."

"Thank you, I am rather intelligent aren't I?"

Percy snorted. "Seems your ego hasn't deflated too much in the time I've been gone."

"That was Kronos' ego, not mine."

"What's this then?"

"Does anybody have any tin to munch on? That silverware wasn't very filling."

Thalia stopped listening to the conversation and slowed her walk, so that she fell in step with Annabeth. "So what happened?"

Annabeth sniffled. "Don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do. Did you try apologizing again?" Annabeth nodded weakly. "…And?"

"What do you think? He didn't say anything. Didn't move, nothing. Just stared out the window and acted like I didn't exist."

"Annabeth…"

"I suppose it's exactly what I deserve, for abandoning him like that, even though everyone else stood by him. Gods, I'm such an idiot."

"Yeah, you are." Annabeth looked as if Thalia had just slapped her. "But so is he. Which is why you two always got along so well."

"Yeah, well, not anymore."

"That's what I'm trying to tell you, dummy. He's an idiot, so he's gonna take some time to come around. But he will come around, he's Percy."

"I don't know, Thalia. Even idiots have their limits."

* * *

One hour and a stop at Camp Half-Blood later found the six demigods back in Sally and Paul's apartment. Poseidon had left before they had returned, having done what he came to do. Everyone was gathered in the living area once again, still occasionally throwing out theories as to what Kronos' objective was. Otherwise, conversation was fairly normal.

"Could he have just been trying to hide something from us?" Luke asked.

"That's a possibility, actually," Percy said. None of them had touched on the 'Percy's a weapon' theory again. "We'll have to remember to tell dad about that."

"So, Annabeth," Sally said. "We haven't heard from you in a while. How have you been? How's your father doing?"

"Dad's still being dad. I've been…not bad. Redesigning Olympus takes up a lot of my time anymore."

"Redesigning Olympus?"

"Yeah, the gods decided that it should be my reward for my contribution in the war."

"Well that's wonderful! It's what you've always wanted, isn't it?" Annabeth nodded.

"So what did you get, Nico?" the room went silent as Percy asked the question.

"I was made General of Hades. I can command all the powers of the Underworld, and I answer only to father within that domain."

"Nice. Grover?"

"I…I was made the new Lord of the Wild, to replace Pan."

Percy cracked a grin. "You deserve it G-Man. You always were the most dedicated of the Satyrs. Thalia?"

"I turned them down after they told me I wasn't allowed to spring you from Tartarus with my "reward." I told them I'd claim it another time."

Percy nodded. "Thank you. And Luke, I'm just going to assume that yours was not being cricified."

Luke shrugged. "I tried to get them to switch our sentences, my freedom with your imprisonment, but they wouldn't hear of it."

"Well, damn, thanks for trying though." He looked at them all in turn. "Do you see now why I've defied them the way I have? Why I stood against them on Half-Blood Hill? I know you all think I've been unstable since I got back. I'm trying to tell you why I did some of the things I did." He sighed. "I know this is coming out of nowhere and I'm not making any sense, but just, try to understand what I'm saying. That everyone who was involved critically in the final battle received great rewards, things that they could only dream of before. And here I am, the only one who saved Olympus, twice, and what did I receive for it? My reward was losing three years of my life to pain and torture. My reward was this." He raised his left arm, showing of the bandages.

Sally spoke up first, "Percy, dear, what exactly is…that?"

He looked at her, and she saw the pain in his eyes so clearly she was startled. "I think it's about time I tell all of you what exactly Kronos did to me." He seemed to have a sudden thought. "Actually, I think it'd be easier to just show you."

Percy stood and removed his jacket, tossing it aside. He reached down and gripped the bottom edge of his long-sleeved shirt. Thalia leaned forward slightly. She was finally about to see what Percy had been keeping hidden from her all this while. Percy pulled his shirt over his head, revealing his bare torso.

Sally gave a strangled sob and turned her head into Paul's shoulder, while Paul himself just stared wide-eyed at Percy while his mouth moved wordlessly. Grover cringed backward while Nico winced. Annabeth let out a horrified squeak and held her hands over her mouth. Luke looked as though he had been clubbed over the head.

Thalia, for once, was at a low for words. Her face was furious, and her eyes were filled with so much fire and hate it seemed that anything she looked at would burst into flames hotter than Phlegethon's. "That…fucking…_bastard_…" she growled out through gritted teeth.

Percy was covered in wounds, bruises, scars, and burns. Barely an inch of untouched skin remained. The bruises were every shade of black, blue, and yellow. Long, jagged scars crisscrossed like a road map of hell across his chest and back, too numerable to count. Slashes, some still looking raw and fresh, others appearing half-healed coated his torso. The skin on his right forearm and right side was scarred from burning, and some of it still appeared charred, as though it was still healing. There were several circular scars, and they lined up with others of the same sort on the opposite side; something had been thrust _through_ him, repeatedly. There was a scar shaped like a sickle on his upper right chest. It had been branded in. Sally was now sobbing openly into Paul's chest.

"This…is my reward," Percy stated.

"P-Percy, I…I'm not sure if I should a-ask, but what's-" Nico's voice died.

Percy gave him a small smile. "What's under the bandage?" he indicated his left arm, which was still wrapped. Nico nodded feebly. "I've kept it covered up 'til now because the wrappings blessed by Apollo, so it helps with the pain and the healing, if it can even _be_ healed." He reached back over his shoulder and began to unwind the white gauze. Layer by winding layer the cloth fell away. As it did so, it revealed Greek letters spiraling down Percy's arm. Letters that had been carved into his skin.

"Percy," Annabeth whispered, "what is that?"

He looked at her, and she saw thought she saw something warm flash through his eyes. He held out his left arm, now completely exposed. "Come here." She stood and walked to him, hardly believing that he was talking to her, let alone telling her to come to him. "Read them," he said quietly. "Read the letters, and then tell me what it is."

She slowly traced her fingers along the letters twisting around his arm, starting from the alpha in his palm. As her fingers slid over his marred skin, she could have sworn she felt Percy shudder. _His skin is so cold, almost like he's been in ice._ She reached the last letter, placed directly in between his shoulder blades. She understood what she was looking at, but she didn't want to believe it. "Oh gods. Oh gods, _Percy._"

"Tell them, Annabeth."

"What is it, Annabeth?" Thalia sounded fit to explode.

"It's…it's a curse, written in ancient Greek."

"What's it do?"

"It…it contains the words 'eternal' and 'pain.'"

"So…?"

"It's constantly inflicting pain on him, Annabeth?" Sally asked in a horrified voice.

She shook her head. "Th…There's more. It also has the words 'remember' and 'injury.'"

"No," Luke said, clearly having pieced together the full meaning of the curse.

Annabeth nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks. "It doesn't just inflict pain. It draws from his memory the pain of any injury he's ever suffered, mental or physical, severe or small, and it makes him relive them all, at the time."

"That's…That's…"

"The worst form of torture one can be subjected to," Percy finished for the floundering Grover. "Kronos discovered this fun little curse after about a month after I was placed in his care. He not only used a cursed blade, which in and of itself is excruciatingly painful, but he decided to go a bit further and make sure the blade was _literally_ white-hot before he carved the words into my arm. The pain from every wound I had ever endured damn near killed me. Lots of stuff damn near killed me. Like the bars of molten iron being thrust through my body." Here he lightly touched the circular wounds. "But Kronos would never let me die. Always let me go straight to the edge of my limits, and then brought me back for another round."

"Percy…"

"For three years, Annabeth. For three damned years, I had the joy to experience your words to me over and over, whether I wanted to or not, because of this curse." He lifted his arm and began rewrapping it. "It's playing in my head right now. And all the pain I've ever suffered is currently pulsing through my body. My right side's on fire, the place where Kronos branded me with his emblem burns with a pain you could never imagine. If I don't reapply the bandage now, I will most likely faint."

"I'm so, so sorry, Percy," Annabeth sobbed.

"Sorry is no where near good enough, Annabeth. I had to relive the scene where the person I loved the most betrayed me. For three years of hell, that was the only thing I had to keep me company. That and the image of my mother being crushed by a Minotaur, among countless other images of death. But your betrayal was always the worst, and it made me wish so many times that I could just give up, that Kronos would take me too far one time, and I would not come back. I cannot and will not just forgive you." He turned and walked away. He went to his room and quietly closed the door after him.

Annabeth stood, stunned, for a moment, before unsteadily making her way to the kitchen. She could here the others shifting around in the other room, getting ready for sleep, she presumed. Percy's leaving had quite obviously signaled the end of all the conversation for the evening. Annabeth placed her hands on either side of the sink and gripped the counter tightly. Her body was exhausted; she could barely stand. All the energy had gone from her after seeing Percy like that. _What he must have endured, it's amazing he's still alive._ The tears clouding her vision did not make maintaining her balance any easier.

"Annabeth," came a quiet voice from the kitchen entryway. She didn't turn until she felt Sally's arms wrap around her. She spun around and buried her face into Sally's shoulder.

"What did I do?" she wailed. "What did I do to him? I destroyed him! I-I-"

"Shh, shh. It's ok, Annabeth," Sally soothed. "It's ok. Percy's strong. He made it this far, he'll endure."

"But I…But he…I…"

"Annabeth, Percy still loves you."

Annabeth's eyes widened. "…What?"

"He still loves you. And he still needs you, desperately." Sally wiped away her own tears. She took Annabeth's hand in both of hers. "He was crying for help tonight, Annabeth. He was calling for you to help him, to save him. Please, Annabeth, help him."

* * *

Annabeth shut the door to the bathroom as soundlessly as she could. Everyone was asleep, and she didn't want to be the one to disturb them. She had been unable to sleep and decided that perhaps a shower could help calm her down. Thoughts of what Sally had said played over and over in her mind. Was what she said possible? Was it true? Did Percy still love her, despite what she had done to him?

Annabeth shook her head, damp hair fanning out as she did so. It was impossible, right? And even if it was true, he definitely still had not forgiven her for what she had done. Did that even make sense? To love someone but at the same time resent them for something that could not be forgiven? Annabeth knew that there no escaping these types of thoughts, and that she would be getting no sleep tonight. She sighed.

As she passed Percy's room, she thought she heard a small noise. She stopped and listened. Silence met her. _Maybe it was just my imagina-_ But there it was again. It sounded like…whimpering. She listened harder. It came again, this time accompanied by sporadic movement, as if someone was thrashing.

Then came his voice. Tiny, frightened, and broken. "Please, gods no. Not again." Annabeth stood outside Percy's door, her lip trembling. She didn't know what to do. If she tried to help him, would he just rebuke her as he had been doing? Or was Mrs. Jackson right?

"…Annabeth?"

As soon as she heard it, Annabeth's decision was made, regardless of what Percy would think. She opened the door to find him thrashing around on the bed, hands grasping at his scars. She moved to his side and leaned over. She gently reached out and touched his hand. His hand suddenly grabbed hers and held on tightly. She sat down on the bed beside him.

"It's ok, Percy, I'm here. I'm here," she whispered as she reached up and slowly stroked his cheek. She ran a finger down the length of the scar on his temple. His trembling slowly subsided, his muscles relaxing. When he had calmed down, she lightly lifted herself off the bed and made to leave, but Percy was still tightly holding her hand.

"Annabeth," Percy breathed, and she saw that his eyes were half lidded. She squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for the worst. He was going to get angry with her, was going to wrench his hand away and tell her to get out.

She was surprised to find herself pulled toward and onto the bed next the Percy, who wrapped his arms around her. "Stay." Annabeth blushed furiously. She looked up at Percy's face to find his eyes already closed again. He probably wasn't even aware of what he was doing. It was just some an action born out of the fear the nightmare had caused.

But, she didn't care. It was _her_ name he had called out. Maybe, just maybe, Mrs. Jackson had been right. Maybe it wasn't as hopeless as she had thought it was. As sleep pulled her from consciousness, she realized that Percy probably would not remember this in the morning, and she really doubted that his attitude toward her would change.

That was all right though.

She snuggled tightly into his chest.

It had been _her_ name.

* * *

**A/N:** hope you guys enjoyed it, this one felt kinda...rushed, didn't seem to flow together as nicely as i would have liked it to, but, that's up to you guys to decide, not me.

soooo, review and let me know what you think, k?


	6. A Reason for Pessimism

Hey guys, what's up. i'm still alive, and i apologize for taking so long with this update. truth be told, i wasn't really feeling too motivated to write it, and it didn't help that i didn't know exactly what to do with this one. but yeah, i got it done

so, enjoy...

* * *

A Reason for Pessimism

"_Di Immortales!"_

Annabeth shot upright in bed, wide awake, when somebody cursed loudly. She was confused for a second; this wasn't her cabin at camp. But the memories of the previous night came back quickly, and she gave a startled little jump, realizing she was sleeping _in Percy's bed._ She turned to look at him, only to be met with empty sheets and a cold mattress. _So he's already gotten up._ And he had managed to climb out of bed without waking her. She must really have been out of it because she wasn't the lightest of sleepers.

In a way, Annabeth was glad Percy had already arisen. It meant she would not have to deal with the fallout from last night immediately. Still, she wasn't sure how to handle the current situation at all. She had absolutely no idea how Percy was going to react to her today. Yesterday he had finally broken down a little and talked to her, and then had even asked to stay with him. She felt herself blush at the sudden realization that she had spent the night in Percy's bed, sleeping next to him. To distract herself from the thought, she looked around the room. It was bare, empty and plain. Since his mom had been told Percy was dead, she must have moved all of his stuff. Annabeth spotted two large cardboards boxes peeking out of the closet, and assumed that Sally had packed all of his stuff away in those, always wistfully wishing that what they had told her had not been true, and that her boy would one day return to her.

She slid her feet over the bed and stood, stretching widely as she did so. She ran a hand through her hair and shook it out. She kinda liked when her head had the bedraggled look. It made her appear as if she'd been working hard at some new architecture project. She opened the door to Percy's room and stepped into the living room. She looked around and noted that she was the last one to get up. Nico and Luke would playing cards over in front of the TV, while Grover occasionally tried to steal one to snack on. Thalia was sitting at the bar with Paul, though Annabeth could not hear what they were saying. And there was Percy, moving around the kitchen with his mother, apparently making breakfast. Though that appeared to be on hold, as Percy was currently wrapping gauze around in impressive gash on his hand. She now understood who it was who had woken her. She decided to go and bother the boys, she'd deal with the whole Percy situation later, when she'd actually come up with a strategy.

Annabeth had barely taken a step, though, when a hand cinched around her upper arm and began dragging her to the far side of the room, away from the kitchen and the card game. She was thrown into a chair while the perpetrator perched themselves on the arm of the same chair. Annabeth looked up into glinting electric blue eyes and cringed inwardly. This was not going to be fun.

"Annabeth Chase," Thalia started in what clearly meant to be an intimidating voice, "would you care to explain why you came out of Perseus Jackson's room this morning?" Annabeth stared at her in silence. She wasn't going to take the bait. "Did you spend the whole night there?" Again, silence. "Did you sleep in his bed." Annabeth said nothing but the blush that crept up her neck gave her away. Thalia's mouth dropped open in surprise and she glanced between Percy, now flipping astonishingly blue pancakes and _smiling_ (gods it felt good to see him smile again), and Annabeth several times. "I was always wondering when it would happen." Seeing Annabeth's raised eyebrow, she smirked. "I always wondered when you two would finally fu-"

"GODS, THALIA! We didn't do that!" Annabeth exclaimed, unable to contain it any longer.

The daughter of Zeus' smile only grew larger. "Oh? And what was it you didn't do, dear niece?"

"We didn't-" Annabeth started in a loud voice, but stopped abruptly when she noticed that the remainder of the apartment had gone quiet. She turned to see them all staring at her.

"Morning, Annabeth," Sally called, breaking the awkward silence.

"Ah, uh, morning, Mrs. Jackson." Annabeth glanced down at her lap and then back up, her eyes singling out the black-haired boy holding a knife and freshly cut fruit in his hands. "Good morning, Percy," she said quietly. She had to try it, even though she knew he was just going to ignore her. Percy stared at her for a second or two before grunting in acknowledgement and turning back to his work. Annabeth's eyes widened.

Thalia gave her a small nudge. "Gods, Annabeth, you must have been _spectacular_ last night."

"_Thalia Grace!"_ Annabeth hissed furiously, face beet-red.

Thalia just laughed, blue eyes filled with mirth. "Oh calm down, I'm just teasing you. But in all honesty," she sobered up, "what did happen last night? Why were you in his room?"

"I-I couldn't sleep…"

"And so you ran to his waiting, loving arms and lived happily ever after? Bullshit."

Annabeth glared at her half-heartedly before sighing. "I went to get a shower last night, and as I was passing his room, I heard him having a nightmare. I think it was about when they were torturing him."

"Yeah, I know what his nightmares are about. You forget I've been spending the past couple of nights in Percy's cabin. I know what happens to him after he goes to sleep."

"Well, yeah. I almost decided not to go in. With how he's been acting toward me, I wasn't sure if I would make the situation better or worse."

"So what made you go in?"

"He…he called my name, Thalia. He didn't know I was there, he couldn't have. But he called my name. I couldn't stop myself after that. I calmed him down, but when I went to leave he grabbed my hand and told me to stay."

Thalia's eyes widened. "Seriously? He asked you to stay with him?"

Annabeth nodded. "Then he pulled me onto the bed with him. And I just kinda fell asleep."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

"So…where does this leave you guys?"

"I don't know. Based on his reaction earlier he's at least not going to pretend like I no longer exist. It's a start, I guess."

"Well, maybe if you had _properly_ comforted him last night he would've fully forgiven you already."

Annabeth groaned. "Why is Hades do you persist in torturing me, Thalia?"

Said demigod snorted. "Oh, please, Annabeth. You now that's what I do best. Besides, the sexual tension between you two has always been so thick I could cut it with a spoon."

"First off, cutting things with a spoon isn't very effective. Second off, sexual tension, Thalia? Seriously?"

Thalia nodded with a serious expression on her face. "Of course. It's always been there, and I noticed it right away, soon as I was out of that god damned tree."

Annabeth just shook her head. "You're such an idiot."

"What, don't believe me? Just go ask everyone else who's ever met you two, they'll tell you the same."

"Fine. Hey, Nico," Annabeth called to the small child of Hades, "do you think there was any-"

"Yes," Nico replied without looking away from the card game. "Truckloads of it."

"Even right when you two first met," Luke threw in kindly.

Annabeth spluttered indignantly, "We were only twelve when we first met!"

"When who first met?" Percy joined the conversation while vaulting over the couch. He was wearing jeans and a short-sleeved shirt today, since he no longer had to hide his bandaged arm.

"You and Annabeth, you were only twelve," Grover said.

Percy hummed. "That was a long time ago. So much was different." The room shared a collective sigh.

Luke poked at his now invulnerable skin while muttering, "Very different."

"Unbelievably different," Thalia said, coming to terms with the fact that she had still been a tree at that point.

"Incredibly different," Nico added solemnly, fingering a small golden figurine in his pocket.

Annabeth locked eyes with Percy, and his didn't look away. He stared intently at her, as if trying to convey some unspoken message. She could see just in his eyes how much things had changed in those seven years since their first meeting. "Different," she breathed.

There were a few moments of silence before Thalia turned to Percy. "So, Seaweed Brain, is breakfast ready yet?"

Percy finally broke eye contact with Annabeth to answer Thalia's question. "No, mom's finishing up with Paul's help. She made me stop because…" He held up his bandaged right hand.

"And you call yourself my equal with a sword."

"Oi, it's a knife, completely different, you know. Chopping fruit isn't the same as fighting with a sword."

"It's a blade one way or another. How you were clumsy enough to give yourself such a good-sized wound is beyond me."

"I was distracted, ok? I was thinking about something unrelated and I cut myself. Shit happens." What Percy wasn't going to tell them was that the something he had been thinking about was Annabeth. Or rather, waking up next to her. He was still a bit fuzzy on how exactly the whole situation had come about. He vaguely remembered her comforting him out of his nightmare, and him mumbling something to her while holding onto her wrist before falling back to sleep. Either way, he had woken up this morning, after sleeping peacefully for the first time in what felt like an eternity, with his chest pressed against Annabeth's back, his face buried in his hair, his arm wrapped around her waist.

It had been such a good feeling that Percy nearly snuggled back down under the blankets and gone back to sleep. But he didn't. Somewhere deep inside of him, he was still angry with Annabeth, that he still could not forgive her for not trusting him. So, despite the fact that a part of his mind was screaming at him to stop being so stupid and just stay where he was, he eased himself out of the bottom of the bed, being careful so as not to wake Annabeth. He needed some time to sort out exactly how he should treat her now. He didn't think he had it in him to be entirely cold to her anymore. It had been causing him vast amounts of pain for the whole week he'd been doing it already.

He hated being like that to her. But he also knew that he couldn't help it. He was bitter and resentful, full of pain and anger and hate. He was leveling it at anyone who had caused him. The gods, Kronos, Annabeth. The voice wasn't helping either. Every time he had begun to think that maybe he should lighten up on Annabeth, the voice had whispered from the back of his head, telling him that no, he should be, if anything, colder to Annabeth. Make her realize her mistake and how badly she had hurt him. Of course, when the voice was involved, he didn't have much willpower. However, Percy knew it wasn't entirely the voice's fault. He knew (hoped) that the voice was just presenting him what the darkest parts of his mind conjured up in thought.

But the voice was quiet now, perhaps quelled by the act of comfort Annabeth had shown him last night, and he had time to think. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he needed to be less cold toward Annabeth. It wasn't entirely her fault that she had done what she had done. After all, Mnemosyne had messed with her memories, and Percy had done a rather incriminating thing, what with killing fifty half-bloods. By this point he had made his way to the living room and was sitting on the couch. No one else was awake yet, so he time to himself to order his thoughts.

So, he couldn't keep ignoring her, but he couldn't let things go back to the way they were. It would just leave him feeling bitter if that happened. Bitter that his suffering could so easily be waved away and forgotten. No, he couldn't let it return to how it was before he had been imprisoned, but he didn't think either of them could stand his current attitude anymore, especially the previous evening. _So…friends, I guess._ _I think I could manage that, and I'm sure she'd be happy about it._

"-cy? Percy? Hello?" Percy snapped back into reality as Grover called his name.

"Hmm? What's up, G-Man?"

"Breakfast," he motioned toward the kitchen.

"Ah, right." He glanced back into the room, and noticed that Annabeth had yet to move, and was looking at him nervously. He sighed. It was now or never. "I'll be right there, G-Man." He turned and walked over to Annabeth, thumping down next to her chair.

They sat in silence for a minute, neither saying anything while the sounds of silverware scraping over plates echoed out from the kitchen.

"I'm sorry, Percy," she said quietly. "Sorry for everything. I shouldn't have done what I did. I should've trusted you, believed in you. Instead I let my insecurities get the better of me. Ever since Luke betrayed us, I was always afraid that those who get close to me who end up turning on me. And so, when you killed all those demigods, I thought that…"

Percy sighed. "I still haven't forgiven you Annabeth. I don't think I have it in me. I'm still very hurt and I still feel betrayed like you wouldn't believe." Annabeth seemed to deflate at his words. "But I also realize that I may have been being a bit harsh on you as well. Annabeth," she turned to look at him, though he stared pointedly forward, avoiding her gaze, "you have to understand me here. You were the one who always understood me the best, who knew pretty much exactly what I was thinking. I have no doubt that you still can. I need you to understand what I mean when I say I can't just let everything be the way it was before my imprisonment."

"I do."

"But…" He took a breath. "I think we could start with being friends, though, Annabeth."

Annabeth gave a small cough of surprise. "R-Really?"

"Mhm. I'd like to give it a try."

"I…I…sure." Annabeth smiled widely. "I think that'd be nice."

"That's what I thought. Now, why don't we get some breakfast?"

Annabeth nodded and together they stood and moved to the kitchen.

When they had taken their seats and Percy had filled his plate with blue pancakes and sausage, Sally asked him how his hand was.

Percy glanced at it before shrugging. "It stings."

"We could get some aspirin or something, if you want."

Percy shook his head. "No, it wouldn't help anyway. It'll sting until I get this bloody curse removed."

"Oh," Sally looked worried. She had forgotten about what was carved into her son's arm.

"It's ok, eventually I'll just get used to it, so it won't bother me."

"That's a horrible way to think, Percy!"

"Maybe."

_Are you sure about that? It's kept you out of a lot of pain before, you know?_ Percy winced internally.

_I thought you were gonna stay silent today. _

_Oh? But, dear Percy, I'm you, we are you. How can we stay silent?_

_Now you're just confusing us. _Me_! Confusing _me_, dammit!_

The voice chuckled. _We're merely speaking our true thoughts, Percy._ Percy closed his eyes tight. The voice's uses of pronouns was making it easier than usual for it to worm its way past his defenses and influence him.

"Oi, Seaweed Brain, you feeling alright?" Thalia's voice brought him back to reality.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, just a bit tired, I guess."

She gave him a skeptical look but decided to let this one slide. "Anyway, what say we head to the movies today or something?"

"Sure, I'm up for it. Everybody else?" After a round of affirmation, with exception of Grover, who needed to report back to camp, they quickly finished up breakfast and cleaned up. They threw on the proper gear, said goodbye to Grover, Sally, and Paul, and headed out into the cold of New York.

* * *

"I can never see properly when I come out of movie theaters, you know?" Nico said as they emerged from said theater. "I'm always afraid I'm gonna run smack into a pole or something."

"That's just cause you're a klutz," Thalia offered.

"A klutz who has an undead army behind him for support."

"Anytime you want to dance, di Angelo."

Luke stepped in before things could escalate, "All right now children, let's calm down." He shook his head. "I swear to Hermes, what are you guys going to do whenever I'm not here to stop you?"

"Kill each other, and do us all a favor."

"Oh? You wanna get in on this too, Jackson? I'm more than willing to make this a three-way battle if you want."

Annabeth laughed. She had missed this, though she hadn't realized how badly until now. Only now was she finding out how desperately she had longed for things to be like this again. She felt good right now, incredibly good. This day seemed perfect, as if nothing in the world could go wrong.

That was, of course, until the hellhound burst out of the ground in front of her and pounced at her, eyes glowing and claws slashing.

Annabeth barely had time to utter a small "Eh?" before she felt a force slam into her from behind. She pitched forward, hitting the pavement hard and scraping up her knees and hands. The hellhound had soared over her, however, so she wasn't really going to complain about the small abrasions. It was far better than being dead. Annabeth rolled to her feet and whipped around to find the hellhound bearing down on her friends. Percy had chosen to keep Riptide away, and Thalia had done the same with Aegis. Chances are they didn't want to risk people seeing them wielding weapons in a public place. That's be bad.

They weren't defenseless though. Percy had summoned water from somewhere, and it was swirling in a small, flowing circle around him. A small storm was brewing way high up, and Annabeth could already spot the lightning skittering through the dark clouds. As she watched, Nico raised his hand, and the ground cracked open, fire gushing forth from the fissure. Luke stayed ready in a defensive stance. Annabeth took a step or two toward them in order to keep from isolating herself.

The atmosphere froze in that one charged moment for what felt like an eternity, though it was most likely only a few seconds. And then it broke.

Percy was the first to strike. He slashed his hand through the water, and it shot out like fluid spears, the tips of which had frozen into sharp icicles. The hellhound ducked, leaped, and rolled to avoid them. It was fairly successful, earning only a gash or two along its flank. And then gouts of flame were after it, weaving in amongst the water spears, seeking to roast the beast alive. The hellhound was the most agile Annabeth had ever seen. It had thus far managed to dodge everything that had thrown at it.

Its luck didn't last too much longer though. A bolt of lightning came pelting down from the sky, slamming into the ground right next to the hellhound. The creature reared back in surprise, stopping it's movements for a second. That was all they needed. Five water spears burst through the hellhound's chest at different angles while fire swirled up around it, consuming everything it touched.

Thalia brought another bolt of lightning lancing down, striking the creature dead on this time. The force of the attack blew away the funnel of flames and water and left nothing but a pile of gold dust.

A moment of silence followed. "Well," Nico said, motioning toward the crack in the ground, making it flow back together seamlessly, "that wasn't too hard."

Thalia snorted. "With three kids of the Big Three here, I'd certainly hope not."

"Why the hell would a hellhound just up and attack us, though?" Annabeth wondered aloud. "I thought that ever since Kronos had been defeated the monster attacks had become a lot less frequent and much more concealed."

"Not entirely sure, we need to report this to Chiron back at ca-"

"Guys," Percy interrupted Luke, staring at the remains of the hellhound. "Guys, look."

They turned and stared at what Percy had already noticed. The pile of golden dust that the beast had become was no longer a pile. It had spelled out, in Ancient Greek, a message upon the street, like a child would with chalk.

It was simple, but the indication and meaning were blazingly obvious. As was the sender of the message.

_I'm coming for you, Perseus Jackson._ At the bottom of the message was a small symbol.

A sickle.

* * *

**A/N:** so, there you have it. a bit more of the plot revealed this time then just straight up character development. hope you guys enjoyed it.

oh, and let me say something. i know that i'm not as quick on updates as most people are used to in the PJO fandom on , and i don't mind if you nicely ask me to update, but just don't demand it, it kinda irritates me. sorry if i'm being a bit of a dick.

but, anyway, review, let me know what you guys think


	7. Third Time's a Charm

**A/N:** so...what's up? yes, i know i'm late, and i'm so sorry. starting my third fanfic took more time then i would have thought, but i'm back, so pleeeeeaaase don't be angry with me.

for those of you who enjoyed the action at the end of last chapter, you're going to _love_ this chapter.

so, finally, enjoy...

* * *

Third Time's a Charm

"You have got to be shitting me."

"Nico…"

"You have _got_ to be _shitting_ me."

"Nico, for the love of Hermes-"

"He's back already?! That's just not fair! It's only been three freakin' years! It's not-"

"Di Angelo!" Thalia swung around, voice sharp and loud. "Can it or I'll wire your damn jaw shut."

Nico quelled at the force of the glare Thalia gave him. He shuffled his feet around before murmuring quietly, "I'm just saying is all."

"We know, Nico," Annabeth said. "But you need to calm down. It was just a message, from the way it was sent I'd wager Kronos is still very much trapped in Tartarus."

Luke nodded. "And without a human contact on the outside, it'll be loads harder than it was last time."

"Mmm," Percy hummed. "The problem is that we can't be sure he doesn't have someone already helping him." The five of them were currently en route to Sally and Paul's apartment. "This definitely needs to be reported to Chiron and Mr. D back camp."

"Send a message on ahead to Grover through your empathy link. Tell him we'll be coming to camp as soon as possible."

"Can't. We canceled that before I went to Tartarus, remember?"

_Though for whatever reason we cannot imagine. It would have done us a world of good to have someone else share our experience. _Percy closed his eyes.

_Shut up._

_Such relief we would have experience, knowing we weren't suffering alone._

_I said shut up! And stop talking like that._

"What do you think, Percy?" Thalia was looking at him expectantly.

"Hmm? What?"

"I asked if you think we should just head back there right away or send an iris message?"

Percy hesitated. On one hand, he really wanted to spend more time in New York, enjoying his newfound freedom. On the other, Chiron needed to be notified immediately, and it was better for them to report on the situation in person rather then through an Iris Message. He sighed heavily. "Let's stop back at the apartment, grab out stuff and head back to camp." Thalia nodded before turning on her heel and marching off. Nico caught up to her and they began a slightly heated conversation. Luke, sensing that things could go very, very wrong if someone didn't monitor the two half-bloods, moved forward until he was directly behind them.

Annabeth dropped back a few steps, until she was next to Percy. She looked at him in concern. "Are you ok, Percy? That's the second time today you've spaced out like that."

Percy started for a second, surprised she had caught his slip when he had been arguing with the voice. Said voice hissed at Annabeth's question. "Still can't fool you, can I?"

She gave him a small smile. "You may have changed, Seaweed Brain, but I can still read you like an open book."

Something inside of Percy warmed to these words. He found it comforting that she still understood him to this extent. Not to mention hearing his old nickname from her mouth brought forth feelings and memories of a happier time gone by. He grinned at her before looking to the sky and pulling his jacket tighter about him. "I'm fine," he lied. The voice purred its approval. "Just a little worn out, I guess. Jolted by the whole Kronos thing."

"Percy…" She stared at him for a moment before stated in a rather flat voice, "You can't lie to me, you know?"

Percy nearly face-planted. "Dammit, Wise Girl, quit being so smart." He froze and his eyes widened with the realization of what he had just said. He hadn't even meant to. It had just slipped out by accident. It had just felt so natural, using her nickname.

Annabeth had stopped too. She had caught it as well. Her heart had leapt at those words. _Wise Girl._ It had been so long since anyone had called her that, and now, to hear them again, from _his_ lips. It felt like someone had just slapped home the last piece of an extremely large and arduous jigsaw puzzle. Like she had just put the finishing touches on the new Olympus. Like…like…she didn't know how else to describe it. All she knew is that she had been waiting without really knowing for him to say those words, and now that he had, she felt like she felt like she could build a city. By herself. Without blueprints. "Percy," she breathed, hesitating for a second. She didn't know what to tell him, but she needed to tell him something, didn't she? His green eyes were so expectant, eyebrows slight raised, mouth half open. "Percy, I-"

"What are you two doing back there? You making out?" Thalia suddenly called out from up ahead.

Annabeth and Percy each took a startled step back, suddenly realizing they had gotten closer without either of them knowing it. Despite the blush beginning to creep up her neck, Annabeth turned with an angry expression to Thalia, beginning in a scathing tone, "Thalia Grace, I swear to the gods-" her words died in her throat though, and her attention shifted to the black shape barreling through traffic straight at them. Thalia, Nico and Luke hadn't noticed, having turned their attention back to their own little group after Thalia's comment. Percy hadn't seen it either, his eyes focused intently on the items behind the glass on the closest storefront.

"Di Immortales!" Annabeth swore as she burst into action, dropping low and swinging her leg around. She caught Percy in the back of the knees, and he crashed to the ground, looking for all the world as is somebody had just walked up out of nowhere and slapped him with a fish. Annabeth rolled to the side as the black shadow leapt at them. It soared between them harmlessly, and Annabeth got a good solid look at it. Razor sharp claws, red eyes. Another Hellhound. _What is Hades?_

It seemed Percy had become aware of the situation, for he suddenly sprung to his feet. It also seemed he was done playing around, as the next second Annabeth saw Riptide grow in his hands. He stepped forward and slashed low, taking off the Hellhound's front legs as it turned around. It collapsed, snarling viciously as its face bounced on the hard concrete. One quick stab later and Percy was standing over nothing more than a golden pile of dust.

"Percy!" Annabeth called out in warning, and the son of Poseidon spun around just in time to duck another charging Hellhound.

"What in Poseidon's name?" he murmured. Three Hellhounds in one day? Something was very very wrong. He turned to warn Thalia, Nico, and Luke, and suddenly realized just how bad their situation was. Surrounded by Manticores, Hellhounds, and Empousai, the three demigods were having a battle of their own. The Hellhound in front of him leapt again, and Percy sidestepped swiftly to avoid the claws. He rammed Riptide into the beast's side, and it exploded about his sword. He turned, ready for the next attack, when something slammed into his stomach and sent him careening into the street, his blade slipping from his grasp.

A Dracaenae had slithered up behind him, unnoticed, and struck him with her tail. She now loomed over him, sword held back and poised to gut him alive. She began to strike, but suddenly emitted an ear-piercing shriek and dropped her sword so that she could clutch at her chest, from where a small bronze blade was jutting. She disappeared the next second, revealing a crouched Annabeth, her baseball cap sliding from her head to the ground beside her. She righted herself and held out a hand, which Percy gladly accepted. She pulled him to his feet before snatching her hat up again and disappearing from sight.

Percy reached to his pocket to find that Riptide had already returned. He uncapped it and turned to face his next opponent, an Empousai, fiery hair blazing and bronze legs glinting. The blow to his abdomen was still throbbing, but it would be doing that forever now. Besides, the rest of his body was in enough pain that he barely even registered it anymore, it had become the norm to him. That's one thing that Kronos had given him; an undeniably massive tolerance of pain. The Empousai charged, and Percy easily parried her strike before decapitating her. Kronos should've known better, this was too easy.

Something slammed into Percy's back, knocking him off balance for a second. He turned to find Nico stumbling to his feet, holding his head. "Sorry, Percy," he groaned. "Damned Manticore, you know how it is."

Percy nodded. "Do we even have a clue what's going on?"

Nico gave him a look. "I thought it was quite clear that Kronos is trying to kill us with minions."

"No, it's too light of an attack for that." As if to prove his point, a storm drain suddenly blasted upward on a spout of water. The water swirled around a few times before lancing out at any nearby monsters.

_Should've done that from the beginning._

_Shut up, I don't use my powers if I can help it._

_That's quite pathetic of us, isn't it? We're a demigod, we should use our powers anytime we see an opportunity._ Percy shunted aside the voice and tried to ignore it. He turned his attention back to Nico, who was summoning skeletal warriors from a fissure in the ground. "The point is that if he wanted to kill us, he's be sending stronger creatures. Ones who stood more of a chance against us. Maybe even Titans. I mean, seriously, we have a child of each of the Big Three here, on top of an essentially invincible demigod, and another that can turn invisible. A few Hellhounds and Dracaenae aren't going to be bringing us down anytime soon."

Nico contemplated that for a second. "That's a good point, but still, one way or another…" he reached up and grabbed the back of Percy's neck and pulled, forcing him to duck. A blade went whistling through the space Percy's skull had just occupied. Nico sent a blast of flame into the Dracaenae's face. "We need to be careful, or it _could_ kill us."

Percy sent a water spearing lancing over Nico's shoulder, impaling a Hellhound in mid-leap. He smirked at the young son of Hades. "Careful, right." Nico huffed before trotting back to the other demigods, Percy in tow. "How's everyone holding?"

"Perfect, Seaweed Brain," Thalia grunted as she narrowly avoided a Hellhound's lunge and rammed an arrow into its eye socket, turning it into a fine shower of golden dust. "Abso-fucking-lutely perfect," she spit through clenched teeth, notching the arrow before letting it fly, downing another enemy. "There's _nothing_ I adore more than getting ambushed in the middle of New York City by a bunch of mythical beasts."

"I thought you lived for this stuff anymore?"

"I live for the hunt, not the fight for survival."

"Ah, you have to realize those are pretty much synonyms to me at this point. I hunt down monsters so I don't die."

"Guys, honestly," Luke cut in. "We're kinda-" he stopped abruptly as he bent over backward to avoid a sword. He came back up stabbing, striking the Empousai through the heart. "-in the middle of a battle here, stop chitchatting," he continued.

"Eyes up!" Nico called, drawing Percy's attention to the sky. Above them, swooping down with bloodcurdling screams, were what appeared to be three winged women made of stretched leather…and ugly, a whole lot of ugly. They dove low, raking their claws over the assembled half-bloods.

Percy heard a sharp intake of breath as one of the razor sharp talons caught Nico's shoulder, opening a large gash in the skin. She didn't get away though. Nico grabbed her retreating foot his left hand while summoning his Stygian Iron sword in a twist of flame in his other. He stabbed her in the chest, and fire burst from the wound, consuming the creature in a second.

"Shit," Nico cursed, his hand covering his bleeding shoulder. "That stings."

"Harpies," Luke mused. "That's new." Said creatures were looping around for another pass.

"Dibs on the right one," Thalia said, before launching at a volley of arrows at her claimed target. The Harpy twisted and dodged, managing to avoid all but two of the arrows, which tore holes through her wings. She screeched and pitched forward even faster. Thalia just smirked. A straight path, easily predictable speed. Perfect.

There was a bright flash, and the Harpy barely managed a small "Keh?" before a lightning bolt ripped through her abdomen, instantly vaporizing her.

"Headshot, bitch," Thalia smiled.

"Actually, it was more of an ab- Oof!" Nico doubled over where Thalia had struck his stomach, knocking the air out of him.

"_Headshot._"

Nico nodded, eyes watering from lack of air. "Headshot," he gasped.

"We can count points later, Thalia," Percy interrupted, "focus on those monsters. As for that last Harpy-"

"I've got it," Annabeth's voice came from behind him. "Duck."

Percy didn't even hesitate. He found it amazing that, even after all this time and despite the barrier that had grown between them, he still trusted her without a second thought. Percy bent his knees and placed his hands on the ground, looking like a track runner waiting for the crack of the starting pistol. He felt a brief pressure on his back before it lifted off. Halfway though her leap, the wind pulled Annabeth's hat off again. As she became visible again, the Harpy began frantically flapping its wings, trying to cancel its momentum toward the demigod, hideous face mutated even worse by the fear pulling at it.

Annabeth sunk the knife's blade into the Harpy's forehead. Then, using the handle as a pivot point, she flipped herself up and over the Harpy, slamming it into the ground beneath her when she landed. The creature literally exploded into a cloud of dust.

Percy gave a low whistle. "Showing off a bit are we?"

She gave him a small smile. "Feeling a tad jealous maybe?" Percy merely motioned behind her with Riptide. She turned, instinctively raising her knife to stop an incoming blow, but found that her opponent had already been blocked by a wall of water. As Annabeth watched, the water sunk through the Hellhound's fur and into its skin. The beast looked confused for a moment, and then it exploded, the water inside of it tearing to the surface at a frightening velocity, scattering bits it everywhere. She stared for a second before something nudged her arm, and she looked to find her New York Yankees cap floating next to her, held up by a tendril of water.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow at Percy as she swiped her hat off of the water. "Now who's showing off?"

He shrugged. "You started it."

She rolled her eyes before donning her hat again and disappearing. Percy smirked. Who said fighting for your life couldn't be fun. Well, most people did, but Percy chose to ignore that. If he didn't have fun while keeping himself alive, well then, he'd never have any time for fun would he?

_You could've had three years if those failures of gods hadn't imprisoned you._

Percy stumbled, nearly impaling himself on a Dracaenae's sword. He recovered and cleaved the snake-women in two.

_Hades, can't you even let me fight in peace?_

The voice continued as if it hadn't heard him._ Just think what those three years would have been like. _It was then that Percy realized the voice was different. Before, it had always sounded mocking or playful, or just plain sarcastic. But now it sounded serious, and somehow darker than ever. It was also using pronouns correctly. _Three years they took from you, from us. Three years they filled with pain and torment._

_What's gotten into you?_

_What's gotten into me? No, I don't think that's the right thing to ask. The real question, Percy, is what's gotten into _you_?_

Pain lanced up Percy's spine, spreading out through his whole body. His vision became nothing but a blinding white. He collapsed to his knees, mouth open in a silent scream. And then, quick as it had come, the light began to fade. Percy's vision slowly returned, and he found himself staring up into grey eyes filled with worry. Annabeth's mouth moved, but Percy couldn't hear her over the ringing in his ears. The whole thing was rather like being hit by a flash bang grenade, some part of his mind noted. Except the pain. The pain was still there, pulsing through his system with every beat of his heart.

_What did you do to me?!_ But the voice didn't reply. Instead, Percy felt _something_ inside of him shift in response to his question. Something dark. Something he was frightened of. But he ignored it, he couldn't be bothered with it now, he'd sort it out later.

He pulled himself into a sitting position as sound slowly returned to his world. He heard people screaming, something he hadn't noticed before, probably because he had been too engrossed in the fight. The next thing that managed to penetrate his brain was Annabeth's voice.

"-rcy."

"What?"

"Are you all right, Percy?" She placed a steadying hand on his shoulder. "You just suddenly collapsed and-"

"'m fine," he mumbled, clumsily standing. He scooped Riptide up off the ground and shook his head, doing his best to clear it. He could see that at this rate he and his friends might actually lose There seemed to be no end to the multitude of enemies they were cutting down. Seriously, when had Kronos gathered so many minions?

Percy split an Empousai in half before bashing a Dracaenae over the head. They could probably last the fight out, provided that their enemies remained only these smaller monsters and nothing huge came.

As if on cue, there was a mighty roar, a throaty bellow that shook the ground and sent several cars alarms blaring. Percy froze. He knew that roar. He slowly turned toward the source of the noise, and spotted what he had hoped wouldn't be there. At the end of the block, decked out in gold battle armor and wielding a double-headed axe that could probably chop a building in half, stood one of Percy's oldest foes.

The Minotaur.

"For Poseidon's sake," Percy breathed. This was getting out of hand. "Guys, we have to retreat."

Nico was staring at the Minotaur. "No kidding."

"So it's an overgrown bull, what's the big deal? You've already killed it twice haven't you?"

"In one-on-one combat, and each time I was fairly lucky to come out unscathed."

"This probably means that Kronos is going to start sending the big hitters," Annabeth said. "Percy's right, we need to bail."

"Well, oh great daughter of Athena, how would you suggest doing that? I'm fairly certain they'll catch us if we just high tail it down the street."

Annabeth opened her mouth, most likely to describe an incredibly brilliant and complex escape plan, but was drowned out by another earth-shattering bellow from the Minotaur. He pointed at Percy, and seemed to almost smirk.

"He wants me," Percy said, coming to a sudden realization. "This is all because of me."

Annabeth didn't like the tone of his voice. "Percy…?"

But just then the Minotaur began to charge, knocking aside cars and whatever else was in its way. Newspapers went flying like confetti when it barreled through a kiosk. An idea formed itself in Percy's mind, almost out of nowhere, born of desperation and maybe a dash of reckless stupidity. But that was kinda his calling card wasn't it? He waited until he saw the Minotaur pass a particularly large shadow, and he whistled.

The Minotaur didn't have a clue what hit him, or why he went careening into a building, his charge stopped cold. Percy smirked, that'd leave the bastard dazed for a while. Percy patted his leg, and over trotted Mrs. O'Leary, tongue lolling out and tail wagging furiously from side to side. "Good girl," Percy said as he patted her head. "Good girl." Percy turned to the group of demigods. "Everybody, onto Mrs. O'Leary, now."

"Bwha-"

"Smart, Percy," Nico cut off Thalia. "Shadow travel."

Percy nodded. "C'mon, while there's a lull, everybody up." Nico swung up first, followed by Thalia and Luke. Percy gave Annabeth a small boost, and she didn't even bother to tell him she was perfectly capable on her own. She was still too worried by his earlier comment.

She held out a hand. "C'mon, Percy." Percy gave her a small, sad smile, and suddenly she knew why she hadn't liked his earlier tone; it was the one he had used in Mt. St. Helens, right before he told her to leave without him.

"Nico," Percy looked at him. "Take them straight back to camp and get help. Get your stuff from the apartment later."

"Percy," Luke was frowning, "what exactly are you planning?"

"I'm staying here."

"Like Hades you are!" Thalia exclaimed. "Quit being such a self-sacrificing idiot."

"They're after me, Thal. Not you guys. You don't need to suffer because of me. Beside, the Minotaur is _my_ archenemy."

"Percy…" Annabeth began, and Thalia had taken in another large, angry breath in order to continue her rant. Percy gave Nico a warning look, then gave Mrs. O'Leary a large slap on the backside. The Hellhound gave a small yelp and exploded into motion, sprinting toward the side of a building. Nico swore, and the group as a whole vanished inside of a shadow.

Percy breathed a sigh of relief. At least they were safe now. Safe from the Minotaur and Kronos' minions. _But, more importantly_, Percy thought as he felt that dangerous something move inside of him again, _they're safe from me._ He heard the shifting of rubble and stones and turned to face the Minotaur, now extracted from the bus-sized hole it had punched through the stone building. Its dazed glance settled on him and focused somewhat. The bull-man threw out its chest and roared one more time, causing the monsters around Percy to back off; they didn't want to get in between the Minotaur and his prey.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it?" Percy called out, almost jokingly. "You still sore from getting your ass kicked by me twice?"

The Minotaur snorted and hefted his battleaxe.

"Alright you stupid mountain of fur. Care for one more dance?"

The Minotaur scraped his foot backward along the road, kicking up dust.

Percy lifted Riptide and assumed a battle stance. "Round three, start."

* * *

**A/N: **so there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. not a lot of plot this time, but a crap ton of action, and an old enemy. i bet a lot of you are hating me for leaving that a cliffie XD**. **i promise that the next update will be faster than this one was. if it isn't then may Zeus strike me down *pulls out a lightning rod and places it on roof of building*

Anyway, review guys! let me know what you think, i thrive on feedback.

PS- I'd just like to say i love you all. i didn't expect my story to gather this many fans, and i can't even begin to tell you how awesome you all are. keep doing what you do, you kick ass.


	8. Freudian Slip

**A/N:** HWHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!

an update, a mere eight days after the previous one? what witchery is this?

surprise guys! this is to thank you all for suffering through my extra long update period last time.

so, here we go, enjoy...

* * *

Freudian Slip

Christina Roberts was a very down-to-earth woman.

She didn't believe in superstitions. Didn't throw spilled salt over her shoulder, didn't hunt fervently for four-leaf clovers. She even made it a point to pass under every ladder she saw. Neither did she believe in karma. She believed what would come would come, regardless of whether she had saved an orphan or killed one. She did not hold to any religious dogma, believing them to be nothing more than silly stories used to restrict and control people. On that note, she also believed in nothing out of the ordinary. Paranormal and supernatural activity was nothing more than small phenomena that could be explained through the use of science.

Christina cut a rather striking figure too. She was tall and lean, with enough visible muscle that one knew not to mess with her. She had her brown her cut to level with her chin, and her fierce blue eyes dared people to try challenging her. She was wearing a knee-length black skirt and a pin-striped dark grey suit jacket over a blindingly white collared shirt. The clothes hugged her body tightly, and made her the object of much talk among her male coworkers. She was, in fact, actually on her way to work right now.

Christina had graduated only one year ago, at the age of twenty (two years early), receiving her Bachelor of Science in Computer Science degree from a little-known college over in Pennsylvania; Millersville University. Not an extremely prestigious school, to be sure, but they had provided her with a good education, and one of her professors has even hooked her up with the job she had now, straight out of school. She was a computer programmer for Athena Industries, a fairly new business that had sprung up seemingly overnight three years prior, and was now competing almost directly with Microsoft in producing computer software, among thousands of other projects encompassing architecture, games, digital media, and even weapons.

This was life. There was nothing extraordinary about it. No magic, no monsters, no demons or angels, no karma, and most certainly no gods. Myths were just that, myths.

Yes, Christina Roberts was a very down-to-earth woman.

Christina Roberts was also about to have the most earth-shattering experience of her life.

She heard the rumbling before she saw anything. It sounded like a bull would if it was charging at you from a distance. Her grandfather had taken her to Spain when she had graduated high school, and they had watched the Running of the Bulls. She pushed the sound from her mind. It didn't matter, it was probably just a large truck or something, maybe a water main broke. After all, she could spot a wall of water racing around the corner ahead.

Christina had already started to submerge back into the complicated scrawl of C++ when her brain finally caught up to what her eyes had already registered.

_What the hell?_

She stopped, blinked, and rubbed her eyes before taking another look. There was no mistaking it; there was a literal wall of water coming her way. It wasn't very large, only ten or so feet high and about a width and a half of a car wide, but still, it was _terrifying_ to see it plowing through the crowded New York streets. Christina could not believe her eyes. It had to be a water main, right? Maybe a really really large one?

When she saw the figure riding on top of the wave though, she immediately threw that theory out the window. She played with the idea that perhaps she was going insane, but seeing as how everyone around her were reacting in much the same way, she highly doubted that much. As the wall came closer, she began to be able to pick out the details of the person surfing along.

A young man with long, messy black hair and pale skin, as if he hadn't been outside in years. She couldn't make out any especially clear facial features other than the scar stretching from his left temple to his throat. She couldn't even see his eyes, though she had the distinct impression that they would be the clearest and purest shade of green she would ever find. How she knew that, she didn't have a clue. Women's intuition, maybe. Whatever the case, it did not take her eyes long to find the next odd thing about the male in front of her. He was wielding a _sword_. A bronze sword. Christina raised a shaky hand to her head. She was seeing things. Had to be. Nobody used swords these days, let alone bronze swords. Nobody rode waves through the middle of downtown New York either, for that sake. It was like something out of a myth. Next thing she knew there would be monsters running around.

As if on cue, the ground gave a mighty lurch and air seemed to shiver. Christina looked up again, only to feel her jaw slacken in horror. There, stampeding around the corner after the young man, was a mountain of fur and muscle. Eyes blazing, horns gleaming, and nostrils leaving white clouds every time it snorted, the beast charged forward on two legs. It was a bull, but it was also a man. She had read enough of Ancient Greek Literature to identify it. _It…It's a Minotaur. How…?_

She didn't get much more time to think, as the creature snatched up a taxi and threw it, correction, _hurled_ it at the wave-rider. The car missed the boy but cut through the wall of water, sending him sprawling to the sidewalk below. And wouldn't you know it, he landed right on top of one Christina Roberts. The young man pushed himself up on his arms, lifting the majority of his weight off of Christina, and looked down at her with dazzling green eyes. How the hell had she known they would be green?

"Sorry," he grunted, hastily rushing to his feet before leaning down and pulling her to hers as easily as he would a small child. Christina found herself blushing. Now that she had a good, close look at this guy, he was actually rather attractive. "Sorry again," he said, brushing a bit of dust himself off of himself and looking over his shoulder to where the Minotaur was snuffling in the street, obviously not having seen where he had fallen. "I'm kinda in a rush though, so, it's been fun, but I gotta go." He started off down the sidewalk.

He made it several steps before Christina found her voice. "W-Wait!" He stopped and turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "Why do you have a sword? And why is that…that…_thing_ chasing you?"

He looked surprised. "You can see this," he asked, brandishing the blade.

"Um…y-yes," Christina stuttered, not sure how to answer. "Is there a reason I wouldn't be able to?"

"Nothing," he said, while shaking his head. "Anyway, you're better off not knowing." And with that he was off, sprinting off down the sidewalk. Christina watched him leap into the air, water suddenly forming another wave underneath of him. The Minotaur's head snapped around, and the beast gave a roar before barreling off toward him. As she watched the two recede into the distance, she realized that her world was never quite going to be the same again.

Christina Roberts was a very down-to-earth woman.

She just wasn't sure if it was Earth she wanted to be down to anymore.

* * *

Percy continued rocketing down the street on his little wave, swerving to avoid stationary and moving cars alike, and even the few that came flying at him from his furry little friend. Despite the fact that this little gambit was keeping him alive, he was beginning to wear down. He hadn't used his powers nor his body this prolifically since before his imprisonment. The exhaustion was seeping through his limbs, threatening to drag him from his watery perch and lay him at the mercy of the beast following so keenly behind him.

He didn't think he could handle direct combat with the Minotaur. Despite the fact that he had already toppled it twice, he most likely would have died both times had they not been extraordinary conditions. The first time had been during a storm, which helped inhibit the creature's senses, and on top of that, he had thought the thing had just killed his mother. And when you think someone or something killed your mother, absolutely _nothing_ short of the apocalypse is going to hold you back. The second time he had been almost entirely invulnerable. That, coupled with the beast's overwhelming arrogance and stupidity, were the only reasons he had lived through that fight. This time, however, he couldn't use any clever tricks like getting the thing to impale itself, and there was no storm to help him. Plus he had the feeling the abomination of life had smartened up a bit after its last defeat at the hands of the son of Poseidon. Kronos had probably chewed him out something fierce back in Tartarus.

Percy allowed himself a small sigh. He had barely been out of Tartarus for a week, and now suddenly all this shit just pops up._ I just can't get a break, can I?_

_Do you want one?_

Percy only wobbled slightly, rather than full out tripping. He was beginning to get used to the sudden intrusions of the voice. That thought scared him.

_Shut your mouth, if you have one. I need every bit of concentration I need to get us out of this alive._

_Maybe if you hadn't been such a self-sacrificing idiot._

_Yeah, well. _Percy felt it again. That thing, whatever it was, shifting inside him. It was beginning to get more frantic, as if it was thrashing around. It wanted out, and it wanted out _now_._ No can do. You're staying right where you are._

_I wasn't planning on going anywhere._

_I wasn't talking to y-_ Or was he? Could the voice be the source for the unknown feeling? _You, what did you do to me before?_

_I didn't do anything._

_I don't believe you._

_I didn't do anything to you. You did it to yourself. All I did was bring it to the surface._

_What?_

_You said earlier you wanted a break, right?_ Percy once again felt the drain on his mind at sustaining the wave.

_Yes,_ he answered at length.

_I can give it to you._

_What do you mean?_

_You feel it right? That thing moving around inside of you? The one that feels like a child throwing a tantrum?_

_What about it?_

_Release it._

_Why in Hades would I do that?_

'_Cause if you do that, it will take care of the Minotaur and any other threats while you take a break._

_That sounds like a load of bullshit. Why should I trust you anyway?_

_Dear Percy, _and the voice tutted at him, like it was reprimanding a child, _I'm a part of you. If you can't trust yourself, who can you trust?_

And although Percy had been getting better at resisting the voice's influence, the exhaustion draining his strength and the promise of a break wore away at his willpower. _I…I guess it couldn't hurt._

_Least not _us _anyway._ Percy closed his eyes and relaxed, letting his body go limp. It took less than three seconds for him to lose control of his body. The beast in his chest and mind tore to the surface so fast that he couldn't have stopped it even if he had wanted to.

Percy found that he could still see, feel, and hear the world around him. The only differences were that the tiredness had disappeared from his limbs as if it had never existed, and he no longer had any influence on what his body did. As such he was rather surprised to find himself cackling madly and muttering the word "free" over and over in a hysteric voice.

_What am I laughing?_

_Because you're happy._

_About what?_

_Getting out._

_But I was just "out," wasn't I?_

_Ah, that was a different you._

_Wait, what?_

_Stop asking questions and just watch. See what you're truly capable of._

_What are you talking about? _But the voice was silent. It was then that Percy noticed that he was no longer riding a wave. He was stopped, and he had turned to face the Minotaur. Percy suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable, something wasn't right. But it didn't register at all in his outward appearance.

No, he was still too busy laughing.

* * *

"Where are you going Annabeth?"

"I'm going back to help Percy, Grover," she replied, as she hoisted herself onto Mrs. O'Leary's back. The Hellhound whimpered, as if sensing what Annabeth was about to ask her to do.

"Annabeth, he sent us away for a reason," Luke said.

"Yeah," Thalia snorted, "because he's an idiot."

"Now, now, Thalia. Percy's may be reckless, but he's no idiot. Luke's right."

"You always take Percy's side, Chiron," Nico grumbled. "But whatever. I say leave it up to Percy."

"And I say screw that I'm going after him," Annabeth spat. She began urging Mrs. O'Leary forward, but Thalia cut her off.

"Thalia-"

"Who in Hades said you were going alone? You children of Athena and your big brains. Always thinking that you're the only ones…gods, so arrogant."

"Thalia?" The daughter of Zeus leapt up behind Annabeth.

"Get this mound of fur moving, wouldja?"

Annabeth smiled before leaning down and saying to Mrs. O'Leary. "Let's get to Percy, girl." The Hellhound gave something like a bark mixed with a yelp and leapt into nearest shadow, vanishing with its two passengers.

Chiron sighed and looked to Nico before motioning in the direction the Hellhound had gone. "You might as well follow them."

Nico rolled his eyes before grabbing Luke's collar and stepping into the nearest shadow.

The room was silent before Grover bleated rather sadly, "Why am I always the one left behind?"

* * *

Mrs. O'Leary burst out of the ground beside a car. She landed on all fours before promptly collapsing. That had been the third shadow travel today; the poor creature was exhausted. Nico and Luke stepped out of the side of a building the next second, Nico stumbling a bit at the drain on his body. Annabeth and Thalia slid smoothly from Mrs. O'Leary's back, each giving the Hellhound a quick scratch behind her ears to convey their thanks. They glanced around, taking in the pandemonium as people fled in one direction. So, of course, they went the opposite direction, toward whatever was causing the whole thing. As they got closer, they heard a sound piercing the air.

It wasn't a rage-induced bellow, nor a scream of pain. Well, not _human_ scream of pain anyway. It was a low keening, a wail that struck fear into those who heard it. What exactly was going on?

They rounded a corner, the sight before them shocking them to a halt.

There stood Percy, laughing insanely (again). Riptide hung unused in his left hand, his other arm outstretched toward the shape floating in the air. It took Annabeth a moment to register that the shape was the source of the sound, and another moment to realize that that was _Minotaur_ hanging in the air. It was suspended by nothing. Percy was obviously holding it there, but why was it screaming like that? She soon got her answer though.

As she watched Percy swung his arm down, and the Minotaur sped like a bullet to the tarmac below. It hit hard, and Annabeth winced as she thought she heard something give way with a resounding crack. There was a spatter of crimson where the beast had struck. But Percy wasn't done. He lifted his palm upward, and the bull-man was once again suspended in the air, only a few inches this time though. She looked on, horrified, as Percy pointed at the Minotaur's arm, and then made a twisting motion with his hand. This time Annabeth was positive she heard bones break. The creature howled deafeningly, obviously in horrible pain. Annabeth could see the gleaming white of jagged bones punching through its skin. She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood before looking back to the half-blood in control of the grisly scene.

_Percy, what are you doing?

* * *

_

_No, stop it! Stop it!_

_Why should you stop it, Percy? You're enjoying this._

_No, it's disgusting, causing pain like this. He's suffering, can't you see that?_

_There's water in almost everything Percy, _the voice said, ignoring Percy's plea._ Humans are actually 60% water. Blood, muscles, organs, everything in their bodies contains water. And monsters have those too, you know, muscles and what not? Which means that you have the power to control them._

_That doesn't mean I should abuse my power like this!_

_Abuse? Percy, we're merely utilizing out father's inheritance. Besides, that creature's suffering is nothing compared to yours, is it?_

_Stop it!_

_Admit it, Percy! You enjoy this as much as I do. You enjoy the feeling of his body obeying your every thought like a puppet, of feeling his bones snap, his organs rupture. You enjoy watching him thrash in pain and misery. _And as much as Percy tried to deny it, despite the fact that he was horribly repulsed by what he was doing, some part of him, way deep down, was relishing the experience.

_You're wrong, I hate this! Stop controlling my body!_ At Percy's beckoning, the Minotaur's leg slowly came away from the beast's body with the sickening sound of tearing flesh and muscle. The resulting wail shook the earth with its volume.

_Don't lie, and don't blame me for this. This is all you. This is what you truly desire, Percy. This is the darker part of you that you've locked away for so long, brought to the surface by your anger and hate about what happened to you. This is you. Take a good long look, for this is what you truly are. Beautiful, isn't it?_

_I-_

"Percy!" Percy's head turned to find the source of the voice, and he saw Annabeth approaching him, eyes wide. "Percy, stop it! What are you doing?"

Percy tried to speak, to tell her to stay back, but the only thing that came out was a strangled grunt. He felt himself shift, and saw him arm swing into view.

_No._ The fingers on his hand flexed, preparing to inflict the same pain and torture on Annabeth that he had to the Minotaur. _No no no no!_ And yet, again, there was that small portion of him that cheered at the idea of making her suffer like he had. That small, buried portion of him. But he couldn't hurt Annabeth, no matter what she had done to him, he couldn't do that to her.

_Why do you fight it, Percy? Just let your instincts do everything for you. Everything will work out better for you if you do._

_No!_

_Don't fight it! _Percy's hand made a grasping motion and Annabeth froze, gasping

"P-Percy…?" He started to tighten his grip, as if he was trying to break something in his hand, and Annabeth let out a small squeak of pain. He was crushing her.

_I SAID STOP IT!_ And suddenly, with a violent wrench, he was in control of his body again. He immediately dropped his hand. Annabeth breathed deeply as the pressure evaporated. She looked to her black-haired friend, now striding to the Minotaur. He wasted no time in stabbing the moaning beast in between the eyes, giving it a swift pass back to Tartarus.

He then stood, silent and immobile, staring off into the distance. Annabeth glanced back at the other three demigods. Thalia gave her a small nod.

"Percy?" Annabeth asked hesitantly, stepping a few cautious steps forward. She had to play it safe; she didn't know what Percy was capable of anymore. "Percy?" she asked again. Percy titled his head slightly, as if acknowledging her, but he didn't say anything. She noticed he was trembling though. She took another two steps toward him. "Percy, it's alright, come here."

He didn't move to her though. Instead, he fell to his knees, dropping Riptide as he did so. As the sword clanged on the shatter cement, Annabeth finally saw Percy's face. Although his eyes were hidden behind a curtain of hair, she saw the tears running down his cheeks. She threw all caution to the wind then, closing the remaining gap between them with barely two strides. She crouched in front of him, yet he still refused to meet her eyes.

"Percy, it's ok." He made a sound, a small, strangled gulp. Annabeth reached out and gently wrapped her arms around him. She pulled him against her, whispering quietly in his ear, "It's ok, Percy. It's alright. Look, I'm fine. You're fine. It's alright. Everything's alright."

And Percy cried. He cried like he hadn't in years, but he didn't make a sound. His tears silently soaked Annabeth's shoulder, but neither of them cared. All that mattered to them was the presence of the other.

A thought came unbidden to Percy's mind and stuck there, making him shudder violently. Annabeth's embrace tightened. It was something the voice had said, before he had lost control, before he had gotten into the fight with the Minotaur.

_The real question, Percy, is what's gotten into _you_?

* * *

_

**A/N:** so there you have it, ladies and gentlemen.

i have to say, i'm really getting a lot of enjoyment our of writing dark percy's parts. review, and let me guys know what you think of him, cause he's going to be heavily involved in the overall plot.

and if anybody's wondering about the college, Millersville, it's real, i attend it, so i would know.

i tried this on one of my other fics, and i'm interested in seeing the response i get here for it. for every review i get i will NOT kill a small child. (or, if you don't like children, just review anyway and tell me to tag one for you)

til next time,

~ScionoftheEnd~

**EDIT: **This is to address those of you who are asking about Tango's "The Rise and Fall and Redemption of Percy Jackson". I had given Tango permission to use parts of my story for his. I was hoping he/she was only going to use a few snippets, but it seems she/he almost entirely copy+pasted my story. I've asked him/her to take it down.

And just in case you want proof that mine was the original, just look at the publication dates.


	9. Daylight Saving Time

**A/N:** So yeah...um...hi guys. It's been a while. Just...eight months...

I'm really really really sorry for the delay, guys. Like super ungodly can't describe it sorry. A lot's happened since the last time we saw each other, and all of that shall be explained in the A/N after the chapter. I will not keep you from the reading you've been craving for so long now any longer.

Enjoy...

* * *

Daylight Saving Time

"Come, join me." He said it simply, calmly, _authoritatively._ It sounded more like a command than a request. His green eyes were dark, yet at the same time seemed to blaze unnaturally.

"Percy, what happened to you?"

"What happened, Annabeth? Nothing, I merely saw the truth. The gods have never given me anything other than hardship and pain. Why should I continue to serve them? Tell me!" Annabeth's mouth worked wordlessly for a few moments. What the Hades had happened? This wasn't Percy! "My point exactly; there is none." His eyes flashed dangerously.

"This isn't right, Percy. This isn't you!"

"This isn't me?" he shrieked, face twisting in anger. "What would you know? You haven't had to go through what I have, had to endure that horrific torture! And why? Because I shouldered a responsibility too big for anybody? Because I saved the world? I'm sick of the so-called _wise_ and _fair_ gods. I'm turning my back on them!" He held out his hand. "You're either with me or you're not." Silence filled the air as Annabeth stared at the offered hand. "If you do not come with me now, Annabeth, it will be the end for you. I'm going to destroy the gods, and nothing can stop me. This is your last chance; take my hand."

Annabeth took a hesitant step forward, Percy's words echoing in her head. _This is your last chance… _And she knew it was. Not to join him, she could not do that. No, this was her last opportunity to stop his revenge from ever taking place. If she did not do something now, then chances were the gods would fall; she had no doubt that Percy was working with Kronos now.

She needed to stop him, by any means necessary.

Annabeth took another step, stealthily drawing her dagger behind her back. Her heart was beating furiously, and tears threatened to fall from her eyes. She almost dropped the bronze blade when her palms began to sweat. She did not want to do this. She did not want to betray him again. Annabeth had little choice, however. It was either Percy or the entire world, and as much as she felt for the man in front of her, she could not trade his life for so many more. _He would want it this way._

Would he truly though?

She had no more time to think about it though, as she reached Percy. He smiled widely as she gently placed her left hand in his. It was now or never. And in that instant, Annabeth thought about doing something she's never considered before. She considered betraying her mother and the rest of the gods. Giving up everything she had known and just joining Percy. She would have him. It would be enough just to stay by his side, right? The impulse was so strong that she nearly threw her knife away right then and there.

But Annabeth could not. And she knew that. She could not forfeit the entire world just for her feelings. Her decision was made. She leaned in and softly pressed her lips to his, closing her eyes as she did. When she pulled away, Percy's eyes were still closed, and his face was content.

"I'm sorry, Percy," she whispered in a broken voice.

She whipped the blade around.

Annabeth awoke with tears in her eyes and a nauseous feeling in her stomach.

"I'm sorry," she murmured quietly, unsure as to why.

She sat up, gingerly wiping the tears from her face, the dream already gone from her mind. What had caused her to cry like this? She tried to remember, but the dream would not come back to her. This was a problem, as dreams for demigods were never just dreams. It vexed her; she was Annabeth Chase! She should be able to remember anything she wanted to. The day was not off to a good start.

She slid from her bed, bare feet landing silently on the wood flooring of cabin number six. She was sure to be as quiet as possible, not wishing to wake her brothers and sisters. She quickly changed into shorts (they were back at camp, where it was always summer) and an orange Camp Half-Blood T-Shirt. Maybe the early morning air would help jog her memory, though she had little hope in that regard. Annabeth left the cabin, gently easing the door closed behind her.

She glanced up. It was still early, the sky a light shade of gray. She set off at a slow walk, not really having a destination in mind. She thought about checking in on Percy as she passed by cabin three, but decided against it. The son of Poseidon had been completely out of touch since the entire New York incident. He had not even returned to Sally's apartment to let her know everything was ok; he just left it to Chiron to inform her via Iris Message. He had not said a word to anybody, despite how much was said to him. He had just slumped and stared out of the nearest window with distant eyes.

It was breaking Annabeth's heart to watch him like this, to be honest. It was like he had reverted back to how he had been a week and half ago. In fact, it seemed he was worse off now than he had been before. He was falling apart. Annabeth hoped and prayed that it was nothing more than a temporary bout of depression following his psychotic break in the fight with the Minotaur. She was a daughter of the goddess of wisdom though, so she already knew it was not. She already knew that whatever had happened to him in that fight had snapped something deep inside of him. Something that had managed to stay unbroken even through his three long years of torture.

Annabeth wasn't sure at all how to handle this situation with Percy. Things were just moving too fast. First he had been a murderer, imprisoned in Tartarus. Then out of nowhere he had come back, showing nothing but hostility toward her. Shortly thereafter he had tried to kill himself. The next few days saw them making up and beginning to talk again. She had begun to think that maybe, just maybe, there was still something between them, no matter what Percy said about his lingering feelings of anger.

But then the attack had happened, and everything had changed. Percy had retreated into himself once again, and she was right back to square one. Annabeth closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. Too much was going on, she couldn't concentrate. Normally she wouldn't be having any problems like this, but Percy _always_ threw off her concentration, even before the war. Whether it was the stunning shade of his eyes, or the adorable way his forehead scrunched up when he tried to decipher some fact she had just given him. Or his shirtless torso the few times she had watched him swim.

"Mmm…" Annabeth hummed contentedly, entertaining thoughts about a spectacularly shirtless Percy. Suddenly the image of his chest the way it was now, coated in scars and wounds, popped into her mind. Her humming turned into a sound akin to that of a choking cat. _Okay, I deserved that. My mind got sidetracked when I should be paying full attention._ Annabeth once again set her mind to the task of trying to figure out exactly what to do about Percy. She was confused as to whether she should try and talk to him or not. He might accept her help, but it was also just as likely that he'd regress even more, or take his frustrations out on her. And after witnessing what he did to the Minotaur, what he had almost done to _her_, she could honestly say she did not want to be the target of his venting.

She felt ashamed. For a daughter Athena, she was doing a pretty piss poor job of being intelligent.

So Annabeth instead switched her mind to something she could actually concentrate on, something that did not play havoc with her feelings. She turned her attention to the assault. Or rather, the reasoning behind it. She had been confused for a while now as to why Kronos had sent his minions after them. He had not accomplished anything by doing so. The only thing he had gained was an understanding of their power and a few more creatures to keep him company back in Tartarus. So unless he was really really lonely, there was absolutely no point in it.

Unless, of course, it had honestly been meant to kill them all. "He _did_ send the Minotaur," Annabeth reasoned quietly to herself. Perhaps Kronos goal had merely been the destruction of his greatest enemies, apart from the gods of course. Some part of her denied this thought the instant it came to mind. Call it intuition or a stubbornness to believe in the simplest solution, but she was not willing to accept the idea that Kronos had been trying to kill them. There had been another purpose behind it. He was scheming something. He always was. What, though, she could not guess.

Annabeth's feet continued to carry her around aimlessly as she continued to think. She had a feeling Kronos' recent move was connected somehow to his actions after the final battle. There was something there, some kind of link between the two that she was missing. If she had that part of the story, then she could make sense of everything. But no matter how much the young daughter of Athena thought, she could not think of anything that fit. Still, she continued to hypothesize until she found that her mindless wanderings had brought her to the lake. She stopped, looking out over vast expanse of smooth, silent water. The sun had not yet begun to peak its head over the horizon, though it appeared to be waiting just below it. She glanced at her watch and snorted; Apollo was late today.

It was when she glanced back at the lake that she saw something she had missed the first time. At first, in the half-light of the pre-dawn morning, she could not make out the undefined splotch of darkness resting on the lake's surface. After a few moments of walking toward the lake's edge and no small amount of squinting though, the shape resolved itself into two figures. One appeared to be sitting on the water, the other standing. The latter was tall, and seemed to have an air of authority about him that Annabeth could feel even from where she was. They were talking, she could tell that much from the subtle movements of their bodies. What about, she didn't have the slightest clue.

_Who…?_ She didn't have to think long though. There were not many people who could hold a conversation _on top of a lake._ "Percy," she breathed. But then, who was the other one? _Wait a minute. Tall. Authoritative feel. Also treating the water like it's a kitchen floor._ It had to be Poseidon. Besides, she could think of no one else that fit those criteria whom Percy would even talk to right now. _What are they talking about?_

She leaned against the dock's railing, crossing her arms as she continued to look at the father and son pair. What could have possibly brought Poseidon here to talk to Percy? It was possible that it was just to talk, but Annabeth highly doubted that, especially after the assault by Kronos. Therefore, it had to be something of incredible importance, to bring down one of the Big Three personally. But what? And why was he only speaking to Percy about it? Couldn't he have presented it to Chiron and the other heroes of Olympus, regardless of what it may have been?

Annabeth's own anxiousness caught her by surprise. Why was she so antsy about this? What did it matter if Poseidon chose to tell Percy something? If it was that important, then he'd make sure everybody else knew too. _Calm yourself, Annabeth Chase._ But she knew telling herself that wouldn't help. Everything about Percy got her so flustered recently that she was never entirely sure of her own feelings around him anymore.

The figures shifted, the taller one (Poseidon) held out a hand, which Percy accepted, climbing to his feet. They exchanged a few more words before Percy stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the god. Poseidon seemed to hesitate for a second, as if unsure what to do with the display of affection, but then enfolded Percy in a hug. They stayed like that for a few moments before Poseidon stepped back, said something (which Annabeth presumed was some form of the phrase "good-bye") and disappeared in a small pillar of blue-green light. Percy stood still for a minute or two, just looking at the place where his father had been. His gaze then shifted to the horizon, at where the sun was coming up over the horizon.

Or rather, was _supposed_ to be coming up over the horizon.

Annabeth frowned. Was Apollo hung over or something? Maybe he was working on some more of his god-awful poetry and had lost track of time? She didn't know what had happened, all she knew was that the sun should have been fully up by now.

She shook her head and turned her attention back to the son of Poseidon, only to see him hauling himself onto the dock. He stood up and, with slight start, locked eyes with Annabeth.

"A-Annabeth," he said, surprised.

"'Morning."

"What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you much the same thing, Seaweed Brain." She gave a small smile. This was wonderful. Percy was talking again. Even if it was just out of surprise or because of the fact that he had just seen his father. She didn't really care why, just that he was. Especially to her. "I was just taking an early morning walk, couldn't really fall back asleep after I woke up."

Percy walked toward her. "Least you had the luxury of sleep." Now that he was closer, she could see that he looked like hell. There were dark circles under his eyes, and a swath of stubble underneath his chin. His eyes themselves looked tired and haunted. His hair was even more disheveled that usual, something that, when combined with his unshaven state, helped to lend him a feeling of ruggedness he had never seemed to possess before. Handsomeness? Yes. Bravery? Yes. Ruggedness? Not that she had ever noticed. Annabeth had to admit, she could certainly get used to it. Unbidden, the image of Percy shirtless once again rose to her mind. _No, bad Annabeth. Bad._

"You don't look so great." _Liar._ "Did you not sleep last night at all?"

He was silent, and Annabeth was beginning to worry that maybe she had pushed him back into his traumatized state when he spoke up in a quiet voice, "I couldn't."

"Percy," she said gently, reaching out and rubbing a hand up and down his upper arm. "What's wrong?"

He gave a small, hollow chuckle. "What _isn't_ wrong, at this point?" She couldn't really argue with him on that, though she felt like saying something to the contrary. But she sensed that he was going to continue, so she kept her mouth closed. "I see them every night, Annabeth. Their faces are always there. It's not so bad during the day when I have things to do and people around me to keep me distracted. But at night, when I'm on my own…" He shook his head. "I can see every one of their faces, some in pain, some in shock. Every single one of them."

"You mean the demigods from the throne room?"

He nodded. "No matter how much I try not to think about it, no matter how much I try to avoid it, my sins are always catching up to me, reminding me of what I did. I'm a murderer, a killer. The blood on my hands is so thick I'm surprised you can't smell it."

Annabeth was silent, her mind reeling. She had no idea Percy felt this badly about the incident in the throne room. She had known it had affected him deeply, maybe even being the cause of his current psychosis, but that he felt guilt this strong was news to her. She had never even stopped and considered it. _When will I stop being such a horrible friend?_ She decided now was a good time.

She stepped forward and gave Percy a hug. "You listen to me, Percy. You should not feel guilty about what you did. You did the only thing you could to save everyone and everything you loved. You sacrificed so much for everyone, bore a burden nobody else possibly could have. You freed those people, not punished them. You _saved_ them. And if you still believe that you did something wrong," she added as she saw him open his mouth to protest, "then consider your time served." Annabeth gently laid a hand on his bandaged left arm. She could feel the icy coldness of it seeping through his bandage.

"I suppose…"

"That didn't sound very positive, Seaweed Brain. You damn well better believe me or I'm gonna kick your ass into next week."

He didn't say anything, but the corners of his mouth pulled up in a small smile. They stayed like that for awhile. Her hand on his arm, staring off into the distance. The silence was comfortable, but Annabeth knew she had to break it.

"What was Poseidon here for?"

Percy sighed and bowed his head. She could almost feel the energy draining out of him as he replied, "Something's gone wrong on Olympus. Something that, unfortunately, involves me."

Annabeth gave a sharp intake of breath. "It isn't about what happened on Half-Blood Hill is it? They can't possibly be thinking of punishing you for that, not after what happened." Percy shook his head. "Then what is it?"

"I'll tell you with everyone else. Go grab everybody and meet me at the Big House." Annabeth opened her mouth to protest about having to rouse everyone on her own, but when she saw the look in Percy's eyes, she closed it without saying anything.

"Alright," she said quietly. "See you in a bit." She gave his arm a squeeze before turning and jogging back toward the cabins.

_Shame, really. We had her all to ourselves out here. Could've done anything we wished with her._

_Shut up. And stop talking like you're a part of me._

_I _am _a part of you._

_No, you aren't._

_Say what you will, but we both know that I'm just as much a part of you as you are. Eh, _partner?

Percy raised a hand to cover his eyes. These constant conversations with the voice were getting so exhausting. Everything it said held just as much weight and just as much influence as his own thoughts. It was like arguing with someone who knew everything you were gonna say before you did and exactly how you thought. Percy just couldn't win. He'd be damned if he let it win either, though, especially after what happened in New York. He shuddered. _Never again._

_Oh come now, let's not be so hasty. A power like that can really come in handy, you know? Not to mention the brutality to use it._

_Never._

_My my, stubborn as always, I see. But don't worry, Percy, you'll use that power again. And next time, I think you'll find you quite enjoy it._

* * *

"Why in the name of Hades are we up so early?" Nico complained while rubbing his eyes.

"Suck it up, zombie boy. This is nothing. When you go a week without sleep while hunting a Hydra, you let me know."

"Oooh, listen to the big, bad hunter girl and her stories of glory."

Thalia growled and moved threateningly toward Nico. "Guys, enough," Luke said, exasperated. "Seriously, I'm always breaking up a fight between the two of you."

"Yeah, well, she always starts them."

"That's quite a mature viewpoint there, Nico," Annabeth chimed in. "And from what I can recall, it's been a pretty even split."

"As much as we all appreciate the banter, guys, shouldn't we be, you know, focusing?"

"Percy is right." This statement was coupled with the gentle _clip-clop_ of hooves as Chiron entered the room. "From what he has told me, the situation is very grave indeed." The centaur settled himself into a kneeling position at the head of the table. They were gathered in a medium-sized conference room in the Big House. Percy looked around at each of them. Annabeth, Thalia, Nico, and Luke. Grover was, unfortunately, out being the God of the Wild, so he couldn't make it.

"So spill, Seaweed Brain. What is so important that we're all here?" That was Thalia for you, as blunt as ever.

"Tell me something, what time is it?"

"Ugh, probably like seven thirty." Nico looked down at his watch, gave it a curious look before saying in a surprised voice, "It's almost ten." Percy nodded.

"Was that supposed to mean anything, Percy?" Thalia didn't like dancing around a subject. She preferred straightforward answers to her questions.

Percy seemed to just ignore her question. "Look out that window there. Notice anything that seems out of place?"

As one, they all turned to look out large, square window that provided a rather picturesque view of the camp.

"Trees?" offered Nico.

"Birds. I see birds." Thalia was getting agitated.

Annabeth caught it first, of course. "The sun!"

Nico, Luke, and Thalia all gave her strange looks while Percy nodded. "It's almost ten, the sun should be well up by now. However, it's still below the horizon."

"So? It's probably just because Apollo partied too hard last night or something." But Percy could hear the edge in Thalia's voice.

"No, that's not the reason. Apollo isn't just late."

"Percy," Luke spoke for the first time since Chiron had come, "what are you trying to say?"

"I was visited by my father this morning. He told me something incredibly distressing. It seems that Apollo is missing."

There was a moment of silence before a quiet "…Shit" was heard from Thalia.

Percy continued, "He said it was time for a new quest. I would've turned him down," Percy's voice turned bitter, "and I almost did. The problem is that Apollo is the only one who has the slightest chance of healing me." He made a vague gesture at his cursed arm. "So I kinda have to get him back. I figured you'd all be up for it, but if any of you don't want to come you can back out now."

"You'll have to try a lot harder than that to get rid of us, Percy," Nico said before standing and brushing himself off. The others nodded at his words and stood with him.

"So, what's our first move?" Annabeth asked, eyes alight with the challenge of a quest. She hadn't had one since the war.

"Well, I figured that I could go up to the attic and get a prophecy from the Oracle, and we'd work from there."

"Oh, Percy, you don't know yet do you?" Chiron asked.

"Know what?"

"The spirit of the Oracle moved, Percy," Annabeth explained. "It's no longer housed within that corpse. It's found a new host, one who doesn't really live in the attic."

"Oh, well then, let's go wherever it is now."

"After you told me the situation, I sent for her. She should be here any moment."

"Oh, great. Well then, I guess we can just wait for a bit." It was only then that Percy noticed the nervous shuffling of his companions. "Is…something wrong?"

"Percy, the Oracle…she…"

"What about her?"

"She's-"

"Right here," a voice new voice cut in right over Annabeth.

Percy froze. He knew that voice. He hadn't heard it in years, yes, but he still knew it. He turned slowly, not quite knowing what to expect. Overly large shirt, doodled-upon jeans, red frizzy hair, freckles, and those piercing green eyes (which somehow seemed even moreso now). There was no mistake.

"R-Rachel?" Percy stammered.

She gave him an easy smile. "Hello, Percy. How have you been?"

* * *

**A/N:** So there it is. The plot is finally starting to actually move now. I hope you guys enjoyed it, and don't forget, review!

So...now for my explanation.

First and foremost, I hit a wall in my writing. I found that I couldn't make anything come out how I wanted to and everything I wrote was garbage (more than it already is). It's something that I tried many times to circumvent and break right through, even going so far as to attempting the NaNoWriMo's 50000 word book in a month challenge. I got 6600 words in before it fell apart and I couldn't continue. Yesterday I was perusing FF though, and stumbled across a very horrible, _horrible_ fanfics that had positive reviews, and it suddenly inspired me to start writing again. 'Cause even if my stuffs not that great, it was at least better than the shit that I was seeing, and every reader on this site deserves a certain quality from the stories. So let's hope that whole 'wall' thing is over and done with.

I've been through a lot since the last time I was here, too. I've fallen in love, been the happiest I've ever been, and subsequently had my heart broken and felt as depressed as I've ever been. There was a lot of time I spent where I couldn't motivate myself to do anything, let alone write. I apologize for that. Know that I will be doing my best to get back onto my previous schedule of at least one update a month.

And lastly, but certainly not least. Thank you. Every single one of you. If it wasn't for all of you who read my story, and continued to leave me reviews, to message me and ask me where I was, it's very possible that this story would have remained dead. But because I knew how many of you love this story, I didn't give up on it. I want to see it through to it's end, and I hope you all continue to stick with me for that long.

So, once again, thank you, my dear readers, so very very much for being so fucking awesome.


	10. Unobserved Observer

**A/N:** Yo, I am returned once again, with a new chapter and everything. And here it is!

enjoy...

* * *

Unobserved Observer

"Rachel...I…wha…how…" Percy stammered. He couldn't process this. Why was Rachel here? Why was she at Camp Half-Blood? She was a mortal. "What are you doing here?"

She cocked her head to the side slightly. "I just told you Percy. I'm the Oracle."

Percy floundered for a moment, looking for all the world like a fish gasping for water. "You're _what_?"

"The new Oracle. Or rather, the new host for the Oracle's spirit."

"But how…"

Rachel waved away his question. "It's a long story involving anger and curses and things of that sort, not really anything you'd care to hear at the moment."

Percy was still flabbergasted. This was Rachel. Rachel Elizabeth Dare. And she was the Oracle. He sank weakly into a chair. "How much has changed since I've been gone…" he murmured to himself.

He wasn't really looking for an answer, but Rachel gave him one anyway as she moved to him. "A lot, Percy. A whole, whole lot has changed." She grasped his hand in hers and squeezed it tight. "But I'm really happy to see you again. There was a time where I thought you were gone forever."

Percy looked up, green meeting green. He didn't know what to say or what to think. Everything around him was just moving too fast for him to keep up. With the internal battle he was perpetually struggling with and the constant pain dragging at his mind, his life was becoming nothing more than a muddled stream of blurry images and feelings. So he did the only thing that made sense in his confusion.

He stood and hugged Rachel. "It's good to see you too," he said.

Annabeth felt something twinge inside of her whenever Rachel returned the embrace. Like her stomach was flipping in on itself and her blood was trying to boil right out of her skin. It startled her. What was wrong with her? What was this? Why did she feel like tearing out Rachel's, her friend's, throat? She racked her brain, trying to think of any other times she had ever experienced a similar feeling, to see if she could put a name to it.

And then it hit her. Annabeth _had_ felt like this before. Several times, in fact. Four years ago, whenever Percy and Rachel had seemed to be growing infinitely closer with one another. Whenever she felt like she was losing him to her.

This was _jealousy._

Annabeth was appalled at herself. She had absolutely no right to be jealous. Percy hadn't seen Rachel for years, since before the final battle. They had every right to hug one another. Yet still something clawed inside Annabeth's chest and nagged at her mind.

_He didn't give you one._

She blinked. Was that why she was jealous? Because Percy hugged Rachel and not her? In that case she had even less of a right to be jealous than before. She couldn't blame Percy for treating her the way he had whenever he had returned, not after what she had done to him. She deserved exactly what she had gotten. And yet, despite the fact that she could give every logical argument as to why she shouldn't be jealous, here she was, doing just that. Annabeth was ashamed of herself.

After a few moments, Rachel pulled away and gently laid a hand on Percy's face. "You look like you've seen your fair share of adventure since we last met." Her eyes lingered on his scar.

Percy gave a small chuckle. "I suppose you could say that."

"After you save Apollo, I'll talk to him and see what he can't do about this." She gently laid a hand on his chest.

His eyes widened. "How do you-"

"Oracle, Percy," she said with a small smile and a slight lift of her eyebrows.

"Right." He put a hand to his head. "This is going to take some getting used to."

"Understandable. You always were quite slow to adjust to things."

"Hey, I think I handle myself pretty well in battles, at least."

"That's because you're a male. You're all barbarians." Sounds of protest flared up from Luke and Nico while Thalia just smirked and nodded. Chiron gave a small chuckle, and Annabeth saw this as the perfect opportunity to stop Percy and Rachel's little exchange before her jealousy took over completely. It was _her_ Percy was supposed to banter with.

"So, anyway, Rachel," Annabeth said once the commotion had died down a bit. "Got a prophecy for us today?" The whole situation reminded her of all those years ago and how much more simple things were back then. When the only thing she had to worry about was whether or not Percy would choose the redhead over her. And that whole Titan War thing, but that one didn't really count did it?

Rachel smirked and winked at Annabeth, indicating that she knew exactly what the daughter of Athena was trying to do. Damn that girl for being so intuitive. "You know I may just, Annabeth." She went still, her head cocked slightly to one side as if listening for something. "Ah, here it comes." And then her eyes were closed and she looked like she was going to faint. Green mist started seeping into the room out of nowhere. Annabeth and Luke gently helped Rachel sit down. Her eyes snapped open, glowing brilliantly. When she opened her mouth to speak, the old familiar green smoke poured forth. Now _this_ was something Percy was used to. As was the voice whenever it began to speak from Rachel's mouth. That ancient, raspy voice that always made him feel like drinking gallons of water to get the image of a sand paper throat out of his head.

_Five shall travel to find the sun,_

_Entrapped where four flow from one,_

_A challenge must each endure,_

_One shall fall to time's allure,_

_Single into pair,_

_A curse once more to bear._

Rachel collapsed back against the table, breathing heavily, eyes screwed shut. There was silence in the room.

"That…doesn't sound so bad," Nico spoke after a minute.

"Could certainly have been worse," Luke mused.

"Hades, it even gave us a hint as to where they're keeping Apollo."

"The problem, Thalia," Annabeth said, "is that it wasn't a clear hint. If we're honest about it, we have no clue where to even begin."

"Isn't that where you come in though, Annabeth?" Percy asked, and Annabeth looked at him. "You're the smartest one here. You're the one who always figures these kinds of things out." Annabeth gave a smile at the praise. "Any ideas, oh Daughter of Athena?"

"Let me think." She looked at her feet, her eyes losing focus as she began to work the brain she was so famous for. She muttered as she did so. "Four from one. Something related to Greek mythology. What's significant about four in mythology?" She bit her lit and Percy couldn't stop himself from thinking about how damn cute she looked whenever she was figuring something out. He remembered how she used to pore over maps and blueprints with that look on her face. That little scrunch in the center of her forehead. How bright her eyes were. He could practically see the gears in her head turning.

Gods he had missed her.

_Oh you've got to be kidding me. You still have feelings for her don't you?_

_Shut up._

_I can't believe this. She betrays you, destroys you, hurts you in the worst way possible and yet you're just as love struck as you were all those years ago. Do you _enjoy_ pain? Are you a masochist?_

_Shut your face. You're jumping to conclusions. Nobody said anything about me liking her._

_It's written all over your stupid, slack-jawed face._

Percy quickly closed his slightly open mouth. _There's nothing between us. And why the Hades am I even justifying myself to you? Why do you even care?_

_I told you. I'm a part of you. If you're a glutton for pain then I get hurt too. One of us has to look out for us. And since you're a twit…_

Percy's face darkened, and he was glad Annabeth was distracted and couldn't see it. _Look out for us? You mean like before, with the Minotaur?_

_Exactly! Glad you're finally starting to see things from my point of v-_

_That was not looking out for us! That was nothing more than torture._

_And yet it kept us alive._

_I would've managed._

The voice snorted. _Please, you would've died._

_Just leave me alone._

_I can't, I'm you._ Percy found he didn't have a response to that, so he just kept quiet. He switched his focus back to reality just as Annabeth looked up, a smile on her face.

"The wind gods."

"Wind gods?" Thalia asked.

Nico gave a sigh. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

"There are four wind gods, and each rules over a different cardinal wind. There's one overall God of the Winds, Aeolus, who has to be the "one" that all the other four flow from in the prophecy."

"Are you sure?" Thalia asked, being Thalia.

"Not entirely. There are tons of things in the Greek mythology in which four is important. However, that was the biggest I could think of. I'd say we start there, unless anybody has anything else to go on?"

They all shook their heads.

"Very well then, you all shall depart in the morning. In the meantime, I recommend you rest, prepare, and secure transportation." Chiron stroked his beard. "This is the first serious quest in awhile. I wish you all the best of luck. I'll see you tomorrow morning." With that, Chiron trotted out, his face looking troubled by something.

Rachel stood a little shakily. Percy reached out and braced her shoulder. "Woah there, Miss Oracle. You sure you should be walking around just yet?"

She gave him a tired smile. "I'm fine, Percy. Channeling the Oracle always takes a lot out of me. I need to go and rest up in the cave. Chances are I won't be up and about whenever you guys set out tomorrow, so I think I'll say my goodbyes here." She wrapped her arms around Percy's neck while Annabeth fought to keep a growl from escaping her throat. Seriously, what had gotten into her today? "It was wonderful seeing you again, Percy. Be safe on your quest, alright? We just got you back; it'd suck to lose you again."

He gave a small smile. "I'll do my best. Take care of yourself and I'll see you soon." She gave the others similar goodbyes before tiredly leaving to her cave.

"So," Nico started, slouching into a seat, "the wind gods, eh?"

"The wind gods," Annabeth affirmed. Everybody followed Nico's lead and sat.

"Any idea on where we can find them?" Luke asked. "I mean, we can't very well head off into without a destination in mind."

"Last I knew, Boreas made his home in Quebec."

"Boreas?"

"He's the North Wind, Percy. The gods have often times called on him to mess with any mortals they don't particularly like."

"Gotcha." Percy looked only mildly less confused, and Annabeth had another flash of nostalgia.

"So we only know the location of Boreas?"

Annabeth glanced at Thalia. "Not exactly. I _think_ I know where Aeolus himself is."

Nico perked up. "Really now? I have a feeling that would make this whole quest a hell of a lot easier. So where is he?"

"I said I think I know where he is. I'm not sure."

Thalia waved away her concern with a hand. "Well then where do you _think _he is?"

"The Windy City. Chicago."

Luke stroked his chin. "That makes a surprising amount of sense."

"Underestimating me, were we, Castellan?"

His eyes twinkled. "I learned not to do that a long time ago."

"Okay, well, assuming Aeolus _is_ there and we find him, what next? Are we supposed to fight him or what?"

Annabeth shook her head. "No, he's not the one who took Apollo. But we need to him to help us find out who did."

"And that would be…?" Nico drawled.

"Do none of you know your myths? What wind god has had a conflict with Apollo in the past?"

There was a moment of silence before Percy spluttered out, "Hyacinthus!"

Annabeth quirked an eyebrow at him. "That's a flower, not a god, Seaweed Brain."

He gave her a look. "You know exactly what I mean."

"I do, and I'm amazed you actually got it."

"I _did_ listen whenever you taught me mythology before…sometimes."

"Well, I'm glad we're all on the same page now, aren't you two?" Thalia asked Nico and Luke. "It would be such a damn shame if some of us had no clue what was going on."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Hyacinth was a lover of Apollo way back in the ancient days. Thing was, Apollo wasn't the only one who took a fancy to the guy. Zephyr, the West Wind, had a thing for him too. And you know how love and jealousy works with the gods." There were small nods around the table. "Well, one day when Apollo and Hyacinth were throwing a discus, Zephyr blew it so that it struck Hyacinth in the head and killed him."

Nico whistled. "Remind me never to get involved in any type of divine love affairs."

"Noted. Anyway, Apollo made a flower grow from Hyacinth's blood."

"The Hyacinthus," Percy said proudly. Annabeth gave him a small smile and nodded.

"So you think that if any of the wind gods is holding Apollo captive, it's Zephyr, because of their feud?" Luke asked.

"Yep."

"Sounds good to us," Thalia said, as if she was the leader. "Now, on to the rest of the prophecy."

Annabeth started. She had been focusing so hard at deciphering the first two lines of the prophecy that she had forgotten the other four. Now that she did her mood began to darken.

"The middle line we can just forget about," Nico said. He then did a half-decent impression of the Oracle with his voice. "_A challenge must each endure._ I mean, c'mon, really, that's just Questing 101 right there."

Thalia nodded her agreement. "Doesn't sound like the fifth line's all that important or worrying either."

"Really it's the fourth and last lines that are getting to me," Luke said quietly.

"_One shall fall to time's allure,_" Annabeth mused.

"Either one of us is going to grow really old, or…"

Luke finished for Nico, "Or somebody's going to betray us to Kronos."

"Now who said that?"

"The prophecy did, Percy. When it mentions time's allure. Time can really only mean one thing at this point. Kronos, Lord of Time."

"Oh…"

"So, yeah," Thalia's voice sounded slightly constricted, "we have to go on this quest prepared for betrayal. But from who is the question?" Slowly, every eye in the room made its way to the same person. Luke.

He sighed. "Yes, I know, but you all already know where my weak spot is and you can take me out before I do any damage."

"Doesn't change the fact that you might still betray us again," Nico said with a bit of an edge to his voice. "No offense, but maybe you shouldn't come on the quest."

"I would understand completely if-"

"He's coming," Percy stated finally, cutting him off.

"Percy?"

"It's my quest, I decide who comes. He's coming. Besides, his skill and invulnerability will come in handy. And the prophecy could mean anything. We're never sure until it actually happens. So everybody calm down. If we're gonna make it through this with everybody still in tact, we're going to need to trust each other completely and work together better than we ever have." Nobody opened their mouth to protest.

Annabeth smiled. This was the Percy she knew. The leader who always said the right things at the right time. The one who could pull everyone together without actually meaning to. This was her Percy.

"And who said it was your quest, Jackson?"

He gave Thalia a small smirk. "My father." Thalia "hmphed" and turned away, unable to argue. "Anyway, we should probably go get ready guys. We still need to find transportation too. If there are enough Pegasi in camp then we'll use them. Otherwise, we'll have to find something else." He stood, the others following suit. They left the Big House and departed for their cabins.

Along the way they got many a mixed looks from the campers. Some were curious, some frightened, some angry, some happy, others confused.

"I don't think news of the reason for your return has quite made its way around camp yet," Annabeth said after one particularly vicious glare from an Ares kid.

"I would imagine you're right. The only people I told were you guys, Grover, Dad, Paul, and my mom."

"I've told a few people myself," Nico piped up. "They were asking questions about you so I just gave them the truth. Hope you don't mind."

"Not at all. I doubt it'll stop anybody from hating my guts though." Percy looked, rather dejectedly, down at his feet.

Thalia cuffed him in the back of the head. "Cheer the fuck up, Sunshine. Who gives a damn what these people think? You saved their lives. They should be worshipping you. Look, the sun's up and everything." She gave him a smile before suddenly doing a double take and glancing back at the sky. "Wait…um…the sun's up." She turned to look at the group. "How…?"

"They probably just got somebody else to fill in for his duties for now," Annabeth explained. "They can't very well just leave the sun down all day. Even the Mist couldn't cover that up."

"I wonder who they got to do it," Luke said quietly.

"Better not be Lady Artemis or I'll rip someone's head clean off."

"You're like a gorilla, Thalia."

"Do you wanna sing soprano, Di Angelo?" Nico gave a very manly whimper before bolting off for his cabin, Thalia hot on his tail, electricity crackling around her. Luke sighed and sprinted after them. Annabeth laughed at the scene, and even Percy managed a small chuckle. They continued to stroll slowly for the cabins, in no rush. That would come tomorrow.

"It's been so long since I've been on a quest," Percy spoke suddenly, almost startling Annabeth. She had been quite content with the amicable silence between them, but she found herself enjoying the sound of his voice more. She did not like the tremor of fear that ran through it though. "I'm kinda worried that I'm too out of practice and I'm going to get everyone hurt."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You're going to be fine, Seaweed Brain. You remember your first quest? Yeah, you had no clue what you were doing then either, and guess what? We completed the quest _and _saved your mother." She smiled and looped her arm through his._ What is with you today, Chase?_ She suspected her unexpected boldness had something to do with Rachel and the jealously that was still lightly gnawing at her stomach. She continued talking as if it was no big deal though, as if she didn't realize the implications of her action. "You're a natural-born leader, Percy. You were always able to rally people to you and carry them through the worst of everything. You're strong, brave, and more battle-smart then you give yourself credit for." _And damn handsome_, she added in her mind. "And if you tell anybody I said any of that, I'll kill you."

Percy was silent, and Annabeth was afraid that perhaps she'd said too much. That he was going to throw off her arm and yell at her, or berate her for not understanding his feelings. But then she saw the smile on his face. He turned to face her, and suddenly her stomach must have figured itself a trapeze artist. Why else would it be flipping and swinging around like that? It couldn't be that look of warmth in Percy's eyes, or the way the one side of his mouth pulled up further than the other in the most adorable way. Nope, absolutely not.

"Thank you, Annabeth," he whispered.

"Anytime, Seaweed Brain," she whispered back, pulling herself closer to him. They walked like that back to their cabins, oblivious to the world around them and the daunting quest that hung over their heads.

* * *

Far, far away from Percy and Camp Half-Blood, in the furthest reaches of Tartarus, cloaked in shadow, a pair a golden eyes watched a pool of darkness. Images swirled through the blackness, showing the world above. The world of the living. A world he would rule.

The eyes saw the five half-bloods begin to ready themselves for the task ahead. A deep, malicious chuckle rumbled through the air.

"It begins," a voice hissed. "Soon you shall belong to me, Perseus Jackson."

* * *

**A/N: **So what did you guys think? I wasn't very impressed with it myself. Hopefully you all felt differently, though.

Specifically, how did you guys like the prophecy? That one took me a bit of time, working out the wording the and rhyming and the impact it would have on the story. I hope it sounded legit, 'cause I tried my best to make it do so. Also, forgive me if the quest seems a little weak at times. I'm kinda making it up as I go. I know where I want the story to go, just not quite sure the exact path to take to get there :p

Anyway, review review review! I thrive on the things! And thank you to everyone who showed concern over my situation. I'd just like to let you all know that I'm well and truly over it ^_^

'til next time then, guys and gals

~ScionoftheEnd~


	11. Broken Memories

**A/N:** Sorry this one's a bit late guys, I'll save the explanation for after. Also, as a head's up, I've started putting Dark Percy in **_bolded italics_ **to make it clear who's talking withing Percy's head. Otherwise it could begin to get really confusing.

enjoy...

* * *

Broken Memories

Annabeth's dreams that night were a confusing, jumbled mass of thoughts, images, memories and feelings. She barely caught glimpses of what was going through her own head.

A desolate landscape, bathed in fire.

The crushing weight of the sky.

The sound of someone crying.

Percy holding his hand out to her, eyes shining brightly in the surrounding dark.

And then suddenly Annabeth was out of the whirlwind of her mind, and standing in some sort of entrance hall. Columns rose on either side, made of white marble shot through with dark veins and trimmed with gold. A high, vaulted ceiling stretched away above her. The floor was spotless, and small gold and silver tiles constructed a picture of an owl carrying an olive branch in the center of the room.

Annabeth turned around slowly, taking in and appreciating the details of the room. It was beautifully designed and well-built. Whoever had done this had quite the eye for architecture. And then she saw open doors at the other end of the chamber. They were absolutely massive, stretching from the floor almost all the way to the ceiling. Outside was a large balcony with an intricately carved balustrade. She moved cautiously onto the overlook, pressing a hand against the cool stone of the doors as she passed.

She turned her attention to the view and drew in a sharp breath, grey eyes widening visibly. Below her, sprawling away as far as the eye could see, lay a magnificent city. Buildings rose over one another in the sky, intent upon claiming it as their own. Walkways connected some of them while others seemed to be completely isolated. Each and every one of them, from the shortest to the tallest was stunningly gorgeous. Each so amazing to look at that Annabeth felt something stir within her. Temples, castles, skyscrapers, houses, monuments. Everything here called to her.

This wasn't just a city.

"This…" Annabeth murmured in a quiet voice. "This is…"

"The city of your dreams," a voice finished for her. She spun around, hand instinctively reaching for her dagger, only to realize it wasn't there. She gave the intruder a cursory glance, and then did a double-take when she registered her appearance. There was no doubt. If the elegant dress of white she wore didn't give her away, then maybe it was the long, black hair. Or maybe the fierce beauty, the features radiating a cool authority. But in the end, it was her eyes that gave her away. They were grey, intelligence brewing behind them like a storm. Her jaw fell open in shock.

"Mom?"

Athena smiled at her daughter. "Hello, Annabeth."

"What are you doing here?"

"I have come to help you with your quest."

Annabeth's brow furrowed. "No offense, but don't the gods normally wait until we're actually in trouble or stuck in order to help? Unless…" She huffed and looked out across the landscape. "We already messed up didn't we?"

"You are as sharp as ever, Annabeth. Though I would not call it messing up." She stepped out onto the balcony with the demigod and gazed at the city. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Unparalleled," Annabeth replied, her voice far away. She turned to look at her mother. "Who built it?"

"You did."

"_I_ did?"

Athena gave a small chuckle. "Don't be so surprised. Your mind is amazing. You are far more than capable of crafting a city of this caliber. I created a place for us to talk, and your brain automatically constructed this place within it. You truly are my daughter."

Annabeth blushed and looked down at her feet. She had known that her mother was proud of her, but receiving direct praise was not something she was used to. "What did you mean earlier? Whenever you said you wouldn't call it messing up?"

"Your reasoning for the quest so far has been accurate. We ourselves do not know what became of Apollo, so your leads are the only ones we have. The only problem is that you are headed to the wrong location."

"You mean Chicago? I would've bet my cap that Aeolus was there." Annabeth squinted out to the horizon, chewing on her lip.

"You would have been right, Annabeth, if this was before the war. Aeolus resided in Chicago up until the defeat of Kronos. He moved his castle because of the growing number of _Anemoi Thuella_."

"Storm spirits."

Athena nodded. "Whenever Poseidon," here her eyes grew dark and her voice lowered a little, "defeated Typhon, thousands of them were born. Being attracted to environments they're most comfortable with, many of them ended up in Chicago."

"So Aeolus left just because he got annoyed with them?"

"The Master of Winds is a…fickle being, as you'll find out."

"So where do we find him now?"

"Look for him at Pike's Peak, in the Rocky Mountains."

Annabeth sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "That's a lot farther than Chicago. Thalia's not going to be happy about that."

Athena gave a small chuckle and Annabeth smiled. Her mother's face quickly became serious again though. "Annabeth, you must be careful on this quest."

"I always am, mom."

"Even moreso than usual. This quest will be perilous. You are dealing with a force powerful enough to capture and suppress a god. And you travel with a group that is dangerous in and of itself."

Annabeth's eyes narrowed slightly. "What do you mean?"

"The prophecy. The chance is high that one of your companions will betray you."

"We all understand that risk and are willing to take it."

"I understand that, and I would expect nothing less from my daughter. That does not, however, mean you should be lax in your preparations nor be reckless on your journey."

"I'll be careful, Mom. Promise."

Athena was silent for a second, as if contemplating her next words. "Be wary of Percy Jackson."

"Percy?" Annabeth felt a bit of anger creep into her voice. "I know you don't like him, but that's no reason to-"

"My personal feelings have nothing to do with this! The son of Poseidon has been changed by the time he endured in Tartarus. His mind is broken and susceptible. You know this to be true." She looked down at her daughter, who remained silent. "Given his current view of the gods, the possibility of him being the traitor is not impossible."

Annabeth's breath caught tin her throat. She had never even _thought_ of that. "Percy wouldn't…he couldn't…not to us. He would never." But her voice didn't sound sure, even to her own ears.

"I hope that is truly the case, Annabeth, but you must be cautious regardless. And if the time ever comes, you must remember that the fate of the world outweighs the fate of one."

The blonde-haired girl looked down at her feet and gave a small nod. She drew a deep breath before looking back up into her mother's eyes. "I know."

Athena nodded at the determination she saw burning in her daughter's eyes. She wished she could get rid of the sorrow that rested in them as well, but knew she couldn't do anything. Sorrow, sadness, dismay, and pain were all a part of life, especially if you were a demigod. "My time is almost up, Annabeth. I wish you luck on your quest. Find Apollo quickly." She stepped forward and enfolded Annabeth in a hug. "I shall be watching over you, Daughter. Be careful, and remember what I said." She gave her one final squeeze before letting go.

"I will, Mom," Annabeth said as the city vanished.

* * *

Percy was back in Tartarus. He didn't know how he had gotten here or why. All he knew was that he was shackled spread-eagle to a raised metal table.

_Do you remember?_

The cuffs on his wrists and ankles had chaffed his skin so badly that the skin had broken and blood was seeping out. He didn't even notice it though. All the pain he had endure that day had overwhelmed the wounds being opened. Percy raised his head off and table and looked down at his bare torso. The blood and ruined, ragged skin made his head swim, so he laid it back down. He stared up into the black sky, praying to anything that would listen that Kronos would decide that was enough for today and leave him be.

Apparently, nothing heard him.

"Hello, Percy." The shadowy mass that was Kronos was leering over him, gold eyes bright with malice.

The young son of Poseidon groaned. "Leave me alone."

"Now that's no way to be, Percy. We're family, and family should spend quality time together right?" Percy gave his most ferocious glare, though probably wasn't very impressive, given his situation. Kronos laughed. "You always were a fighter, Jackson. If only you had been my host as opposed to that useless son of Hermes. But that's all in the past now. I have something special planned for today." He snapped his fingers and two indistinguishable monsters slithered out of the shadows behind him. One carried a wickedly serrated blade, while the other had a large roll of parchment in its arms.

Kronos took the sword from the first and gave it a once-over. "Not quite ready, I don't think." He turned and plunged it into a glowing fissure. "That should heat it up quickly enough." He noticed Percy gazing at the sword. "Curious? It's a cursed blade, forged within the bowels of Tartarus himself. You'll find out what it's for soon enough." The other monster, though they were really nothing more than shadows with vaguely defined features down here, stepped forward and presented the scroll to his master.

The Titan Lord picked it up and unrolled it, eyes roaming over it. "Oh, yes, quite a special day indeed." Percy knew that if he could see his mouth, a sadistically pleased grin would be there.

_Do you remember this?_

He grabbed the sword's handle and pulled it from the ground, the blade now glowing white-hot. "Perfect. The Underworld flames are so reliable when it comes to tasks like that." He moved over to the metal table and bent over Percy, laying out the scroll over the demigod's legs. "Now, this is going to hurt a bit, so be sure and scream a lot for me, okay?"

And then he plunged the tip of the short sword into his left palm. Percy screamed. He couldn't help it. It felt like his entire body was on fire, as if his _insides_ were on fire. It was like somebody had condensed all the pain in the world into a single fragment of agony and inserted it into his body. It wasn't blood running through his veins anymore, it was tiny shards of glass that cut and tore at everything. He couldn't take it anymore and blacked out.

_What they did to you?_

Percy was awoken when someone dribbled water on his face. His eyes snapped open and he gasped, the pain in his arm instantly forking through his entire body. How was he even still alive? The small trickle of water stopped, and Percy almost whimpered in its absence.

"No, no, Percy. Can't let you have too much of that now can we?" Kronos laughed evilly. "You passed out on me. You can't do that. I can't hurt you when you do that. I think I'll have them keep you awake with water. You like water, right?" Percy didn't have the energy to respond. "Now that that's settled, shall we proceed? We've got one letter down, only thirty-three more to go!"

_How they abandoned you?_

The process lasted three hours. Kronos carving symbols up his left arm and onto his back. Each time Percy had been about to black out, one of titan's minions splashed him in the face with water. It always reinvigorated him enough to keep him conscious and in agony. After about the fifteenth letter, whenever he was starting to get used to the pain, he began to notice that the rest of his body was beginning to hurt with a different pain. Ones from the past. His mind, also, suddenly began forcing him to remember painful experiences. What had Kronos done to him?

_Do you remember?_

The world faded to black and Percy found himself surrounded by darkness. He looked around, but there was nothing to see. He couldn't even tell if his eyes were open.

_Do you, Percy?_

And suddenly there was a reflection of himself in front of him, as if there was a mirror there. He reached forward with his right hand, and his mirror-self did the same with it's left. Whenever their hands touched, Percy shuddered. He had been expecting a smooth, cool surface, but was surprised when he felt ice cold skin and scars. He looked into his doppelgangers eyes, which were so much darker than his.

_Do you remember who can save you from the pain?_

He nodded.

His reflection smiled and clenched its hand.

The world shattered.

Percy awoke in a cold sweat, his entire body shuddering. The pain from the torture was still agonizingly fresh in his mind. Apparently he had managed to not scream this time around though, seeing as how Thalia was still sleeping peacefully in her bed across the room. The nightmares we nothing new to him. Every night, whenever he would fall asleep, he would plunge back into the hell he had struggled through for three years. He didn't know if this was because of the curse, constantly drudging up the worst of his experiences, or if was simply his mind regressing. Something had been different about it this time. He couldn't quite place his finger on it (dreams are always elusive) but he knew it was there. Either way, it had prevented him from getting a single decent night's worth of sleep since his return. The night with Annabeth had been the only exception.

Percy shook his head. He wasn't going to be getting anymore sleep this morning so he decided to get up and finish preparing for the quest. He climbed out, giving a quiet yawn and a quick stretch to help awaken him. His body was long since used to get little to no sleep. Kronos had not allowed him much reprieve in the Underworld. The son of Poseidon pulled on a pair of jeans and an orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt. Grabbing Riptide out from under his pillow and slipping it in his pocket, he left the cabin, closing the door as softly as he could behind him. Percy set off for the lake. He still had a few hours before dawn broke and the others arose. If nothing else, he could use that time to think.

_**Yes, think. 'Cause that's something you've always excelled at.**_

Percy sighed. _Shove off. I really don't want to deal with your shit right now._

_**What exactly were you going to think about, Percy?**_

_Gonna try and remember my dream. And start planning for the quest._

_**Why don't you leave the planning to the daughter of Athena? We both know it's never been your strong suit.**_

_I've come up with plenty of good plans before.  
_

_**Really? Name one for me.**_Percy was silent._**Nothing? Thought so. We are moreso the driving strength of a plan, rather than the architect of it.**_

_There is no 'we.'_

_**Percy, when are you going to accept that we are one? I am you! I am the voice of your true thoughts! The ones you've always pushed to the back of your mind. The ones that were brought out after you suffered so much. I am so very much a part of you.**_

_Why? What are you hear for?_

_**To protect you! Why are you so surprised? What do you think you created me for, Percy? When you could no longer stand the things you were going through, you created me. I got you through the worst of the torture. I whispered encouragements to you, stuck by you the whole time. It's more than any of your "friends" can claim.**_

_You weren't there, I would've heard you._

_**You **_**did**_** hear me, Percy, you just don't realize it. My voice wasn't as strong back then. I communicated with you through suggestions, images, and feelings mostly. Who do you think it was that helped you shunt aside the pain, to detach yourself from the horrors inflicted on you?**_

_That was you?_

_**Yes, it was. I have always been here with you, watching out for you.**_

Percy was silent, musing over this new information. He arrived at the lake and sat down, gazing out over the water.

_I can't trust you. Especially not after what happened with the Minotaur._

_**Percy I was only trying to-**_

_Enough! No more. Leave me in peace._ For once, the voice listened to him and became quiet. He stayed there and thought about his nightmare and the things the voice had told him until the sun peaked over the horizon.

* * *

"Where's Percy?" Nico asked tiredly, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He, Annabeth, Thalia, and Luke were all gathered in the field near the Pegasus stables.

"Dunno," Thalia replied, straightening up from zipping her backpack shut. She slung it over her shoulder. "He wasn't in his bed whenever I woke up this morning, and I didn't hear him leave."

Annabeth bit her lip in worry. Where could he have gone? He knew they had been planning on leaving at dawn. He wouldn't have abandoned the quest right? This was the only chance to heal his arm, so matter how angry he was at the gods he wouldn't not find Apollo would he? She shook her head. This wasn't like her. She shouldn't be worrying this much. Percy was fine, and he would be here. He was just running a little bit late. _It's the dream's fault. The warning from mom is just making me second guess everything._ Annabeth sighed and ran a hand though her hair. Why could nothing about Percy ever be simple?

"Calm down, Annabeth," Luke whispered quietly, and she gave a small start at his voice. "I'm sure Percy's perfectly fine. He'll be here soon."

"Was it really that obvious?"

"You nibbling your lip so hard you're probably going to draw blood and your fingers are practically twitching against your leg."

Annabeth took a deep breath and willed her body to cease its nervous movements.

Just as Percy stepped out of the woods across the field. A shudder ran through her body. _Control yourself._

"Sorry I'm late," he said as he jogged over.

"Where were you?" Thalia demanded.

"The lake."

She rolled her eyes. "'Course you were, why did I even bother asking."

"Regardless," Luke said, "shall we get on with the quest now that everyone's gathered?"

"Are we sure we can't just shadow travel?" Nico asked. "I don't really feel like riding a Pegasus to Chicago."

"Not unless you mind shadow traveling all the way to the Rockies."

Everyone stared at Annabeth.

"Annabeth, dear," Nico began in the tone of voice one would use to talk to someone who just ran headfirst into a wall. "Are you alri-"

"Are you fucking _high_?" Thalia interjected. "The Rockies are no where near Chicago."

"True, but we aren't going to Chicago." Annabeth quickly explained her dream, leaving out the bit about Percy.

"Ugh, so what now?" Just like Annabeth had thought, Thalia was far from pleased about the new turn of events.

"Well, I say we take the Pegasi to Chicago as we planned to before and then grab a train to as close as we can get, and we figure the rest out from there."

"Sounds good. Any one have any problems or questions?" Percy asked.

Nico raised his hand. "Are you _sure_ I can't shadow travel?"

"I'm not taking care of your unconscious body when you faint."

"Fine."

"Alrighty then, let's go." Everyone gathered up their gear and moved off across the field.

Annabeth hung back a bit and caught Percy's eye, silently telling him to do the same. Whenever he was level with her, she asked quietly, "Are you alright? You kinda has us worried for a bit there, Seaweed Brain."

He gave her a small, strained smile. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me, we need to be focusing on the quest." And with that, he moved back up with the rest.

She didn't know if it was the way he had said it, or the expression on his face whenever he had, or the abruptness of his response or just the general air about him, but Annabeth could tell that everything was not alright with Percy. She had a horrible, twisting feeling in her gut. Something terrible was going to happen on this quest.

And she wasn't sure she could stop it.

* * *

**A/N: **So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. I enjoyed writing the dream sequences in this one, and I'm sure all of you who have been asking me for more Percy suffering did too. Aside from those though, I don't think I did too well with the rest of the chapter, but I hope you all disagree.

Also, in regards to it's lateness, I sincerely apologize. I was almost done with it whenever finals week hit, and I couldn't find any free time to complete it in between studying and hanging out with friends I won't see for a long time. And it was meant to be up late last night/very early this morning, but for some reason the document uploader was being an ass, so it made it kinda impossible.

Anyway, review guys! Lots of reviews! Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. 'Til next time

~SciontoftheEnd~


	12. Complications

**A/N:** Hellooooooooo everyone. I'm back. And I'm so very very very very sorry about the obscene amount of time it took me to get this up. My summer was so much busier than I anticipated it would be, and sophomore year's not proving any easier. I apologize to all of you. I hope it will not happen again in the future.

Speaking of future though, I have some exciting news about this story's that I think you'll all want to hear. As for now, you've been kept waiting long enough

Enjoy...

* * *

Complications

Thalia slid off the Pegasus shakily, collapsing to the ground with a small breath of air. She closed her eyes and drew in deep, rasping breaths.

"Never again. Never fucking again," she muttered to herself over and over.

_She gonna be okay, boss?_ Percy dismounted from Blackjack and gave the Pegasus a small scratch behind the ears.

"She'll be fine, Blackjack. She just has a thing about heights."

_Roger that, boss! So, are you sure you don't need Porkpie, Guido, or me anymore? We're totally up for flying you wherever you want to go, be it China or the moon! Well, maybe not the moon. I hear space is mighty cold. Though maybe I should try it sometime. In fact, give me a few minutes and I'll be right back to let you know whether or not I can._

Percy gave a small chuckle. "That's alright, Blackjack. We can handle ourselves from here." As great as it was seeing the Pegasus again, Percy had gotten a mindful of the talkative beast's musings on the flight to Chicago. Anymore and he might go insane. Well, more insane, at any rate. Nico hopped off Porkpie, who he had been sharing with Thalia, and gave a bone-cracking stretch.

"Ah, that feels so much better."

"Completely," agreed Annabeth, who had done something similar after she and Luke had gotten off Guido. She gave Guido a pat on the backside.

_Are you sure, boss?_

"Yes, Blackjack, I'm sure. You guys have taken us far enough. You need to return to camp and rest up. Thanks for the ride."

_Alright then._ The black Pegasus' voice sounded a little down. _Take care of yourself, boss. And I hope whatever's going on in your head sorts itself out soon enough._ Percy gave a strained smile. He hadn't really thought about the telepathic link between himself and Blackjack. Clearly though, the Pegasus had noticed something was awry.

"We'll be fine. You get going. I'll treat you all to a barrel of apples whenever we get back."

_Woohoo!_ And with that the three Pegasi took off, leaving the five demigods own their own in an abandoned parking lot in the middle of Chicago.

"So," Nico started, "now what?"

"Now, we go and find a way West."

* * *

"We should have had the Pegasi drop us closer to the train station," Nico whined.

"No, that would have drawn too much attention," Annabeth spoke from the front of the group. "Plus, we've only been walking for twenty minutes."

"Yeah, well, it's sunny and hot and I'm not happy."

Thalia flicked the son of Hades in the back of the head. "Suck it up, cupcake, you're on a quest."

Nico looked down and grumbled. "How much farther is it?"

"Another…twenty minutes, round about."

Nico stopped walking. "To hell with this. Taxi!" He raised his arm to flag down a passing yellow car. When the first few went by he huffed and began waving his arm. They continued to ignore him. As one in particular passed him by he stamped his foot. The road underneath the vehicle creviced suddenly, giving a nasty bump to the driver; Percy was fairly certain he saw the man's head hit the roof. "Douches," Nico muttered before turning away from the street.

"Look, we don't actually need a taxi. It'll just be money we shouldn't spend, we can just walk."

"Or," Thalia said, "dear Annabeth, we could just take a taxi." She was standing up the sidewalk a bit, leaning on the open door of a cab.

"How did you…?"

"Oh please, Nico, this was nothing. You just don't know how to ask right." The dark-haired boy sent her a glare before clambering into the vehicle.

"But-"

"Might as well leave it go, Annabeth," Luke said as he passed her and headed for the car.

The daughter of Athena huffed and followed. Percy chuckled and slid into the front seat of the cab. "The train station, please," he said to the driver as he closed the door. The man, middle-aged with a scruffy beard and dark complexion, nodded without a word and pulled out into traffic. "So, anyway, is there a direct trip to Colorado or are we gonna have to do some transferring?"

"Should be a straight shot," Annabeth replied from the back seat.

"Colorado?" the taxi driver spoke for the first time without looking away from the road. He had a rough, scratchy voice. "That's a long way away." He took a right turn.

"Ah, well…yeah," even Thalia seemed affected by the more than slightly awkward atmosphere sparked by the man's talking.

They rode on in silence for a bit before the driver again decided to break it. "Why aren't you flying?"

"Don't have the money for it," Percy answered honestly.

"Mmm…"

"Look, sir-"

"Why are you kids heading out there?" He talked over Annabeth as if she hadn't opened her mouth.

Luke narrowed his eyes, "Why do you ask?"

Percy was suddenly getting a bad feeling from this man. His hand started to creep involuntarily toward his pocket.

The driver ignored Luke's question. "Why are you going to Colorado?"

Annabeth, sensing the growing tension, took note of their surroundings. "Wait a minute. This isn't the way to the train station," she realized quietly.

"Where are you taking us?" Thalia shouted at the driver, but once again, he ignored everything said to him.

"Why are you going to Colorado?" he intoned again.

"None of your fucking business, old man!" Thalia screeched. "Now let us out of the car!"

"Ooh, disrespecting your elders." His voice was no longer raspy. It carried a dark, cold quality to it. One that set Percy's teeth on edge and made the hairs on the back of his neck raise. And he smiled. Percy noted, as shivers ran down his spine, that he had incredibly pointed teeth. "You and your friends are very bad children indeed, Percy Jackson."

Percy's hand shot for his Riptide, his battle reflexes kicking in.

The man (monster?) saw his movement and spun the wheel hard to the left, throwing Percy and everyone else against the right side of the vehicle and pinning his arm against the door for an instant as the car careened off the road. It was all he needed.

As Percy watched, the man's skin seemed to fade away. He became transparent to the point where Percy could see out the window on the other side. The driver's face contorted horribly, growing skeletal. His eyes sunk back into his skull and the area around them darkened. The skin pulled back from his lips, revealing those wicked teeth again, set in a permanent grin.

"The hell…?" Percy breathed.

The monster threw itself at Percy, mouth gaping open impossibly wide, intent on sinking its teeth into his throat. He was defenseless, unable to reach for Riptide and inertia still pressing him to the side of the car.

_Am I really going to die here? Of all places? After enduring this much, making it this far?_

_**There's still a chance. Give it control again.**_

_No._

_**But we're going to die otherwise!**_

Percy didn't have time to respond before a foot came shooting out from in between the driver and passenger seat, slamming into the side of the driver's head. He hit the dashboard hard, and his hands jerked off the wheel. Unmanned, the car swerved around haphazardly, threading through traffic and pedestrians alike. How they had not crashed yet was a complete mystery. Of course, it couldn't last forever.

The taxi hit a curb hard and the wheel spun completely to the right. The vehicle turned sharply. It slowly lifted and skidded on two tires for awhile, but eventually physics interceded and flipped it violently. It tumbled a few times before coming to rest on the roof. Percy sat upside down dazedly in his chair, suspended by his seatbelt. The whole thing had been a mere blur to him. Just a bunch of swirling, loud noise, and pain. His right knee must have struck something hard because it was throbbing. He undid his seatbelt and collapsed to the ceiling as sound filtered back into his ears. He heard people talking outside, a small muttering that seemed to be growing larger. Sirens wailed in the distance. He looked to the driver's seat, but the creature was nowhere to be found.

They needed to move, now. Getting caught by the police would just slow them down.

_**Move. Move!**_

_I _am_ moving._

_**Move faster!**_

Percy ignored the voice and instead turned his attention to his door. Bent by the crash, it did not open when he pulled the handle.

"Dammit." He pulled Riptide from his pocket and uncapped it, smashing the pommel of the sword into the window when it was fully grown. The glass shattered outward. He climbed through the window, being careful not to cut himself on the edges. Once free of the wreckage he moved to the back on the car and smashed that window as well.

_**Oh, please. Really? You're helping them? Just leave. You need to go, now! Who cares about them. You don't need them!**_

_Shut up! I'm not going anywhere without them!_

He leaned over and looked inside the back of the cab. He jumped back in surprise whenever an arm shot out and grasped the frame. Annabeth wrenched herself free from the upturned vehicle. There were bruises on her right elbow and various cuts and scratches darting over her skin. A small gash on her forehead leaked blood down the side of her face, but she didn't seem to notice. Her eyes were blazing, two small storms of energy and power. Her muscles were taught and ready to spring at a moment's notice. Percy decided she looked like she was okay.

More than okay, she looked damn _good_, especially with the way her hair was all mussed about like that…

Percy was broken from his daydream whenever the door on the opposite side of the car burst open. Luke soon followed, climbing to his feet and dusting himself off briefly, completely untouched from the accident. He turned and reached into the cab, dragging out a dazed Nico by the armpits. The son of Hades looked around blearily, a large bruise forming on his right temple. Thalia crawled out on Annabeth's side, rolling to her feet as soon as she could, bow at the ready. Everyone looked around, ready to move at a moment's notice. The creature, however, appeared to have vanished.

"What," Thalia spit out a small wad of blood, "the _fuck_ was that?"

"Monster," Nico answered airily, leaning on Luke for support.

"I know that, dipshit, but what type of monster? I've never seen that thing before, even as a Hunter."

"That's because he's the only one of his kind."

Thalia turned to Annabeth, "Yeah, well, so's the Minotaur, and he's popped up three times in under a decade."

"Fair point, but he's not a consort to a god."

"A what?"

Annabeth nodded at the still smoking wreck. "If I'm right, I believe that was Mormo."

Percy's eyebrows scrunched. "He didn't really look religious to me."

Annabeth sighed and rolled her eyes. "_Mormo_, Seawood Brain, not Mormon. He's a companion of Hecate, goddess of magic."

"What is he?" Luke asked.

"I don't know," Annabeth replied while shaking her head. "He's his own entity. He's a vampire-like spirit. That's about all I know. Parents used to use stories about him to make their kids behave, saying he'd bite the bad ones."

"With a mouth like that I bet those kids stopped misbehaving real quick."

Annabeth smirked. "Only you would worry about the effectiveness of ancient Greece Boogieman stories, Seaweed Brain."

"Listen, my mom used to tell me Boogieman stories whenever I acted up. And the thing she described was no where near that _horrifying._ I feel for those poor kids."

"Percy it was centuries ago!"

Percy opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by an aggravated Thalia, "You two can do your stupid flirting horseshit later! For now, we need to get the hell out of here!"

"Right," Percy said, and then turned and to look around. He didn't know where they were, and there were so many people gathered around them. "Um…Annabeth?"

"Up this street, make a left, down three streets, take a right, one street, left, two blocks to the station on the right."

"Hermes, Annabeth, how do you _do_ that?" Luke murmured quietly.

"Honestly, you shouldn't be surprised at this point. Let's get moving. Luke," Percy nodded at him, "I'll leave Nico to you."

"'m perfectly fine," said son of Hades mumbled before trying to take a shaky step forward. Thankfully Luke caught him when he was halfway toward the ground.

"Not quite. Here we go." Luke pulled him to his feet and threw one of his arms over his shoulder. Percy nodded and they started running down the street, Nico stumbling.

"By the way, who kicked the Mormon in the head?"

"Mormo, Percy," Annabeth corrected. "And it was me. Figured it'd be bad to let our fearless leader die before we even get to Colorado."

"Oh, but when we get there I'm free game am I?"

"Hey, someone needs to be the monster-bait."

Nico let loose a giddy chuckle. "Monster-bait…hehe…"

"How hard did that dumbass smack his head?"

Luke shook his head at Thalia. "I don't know, pretty hard by the looks of it. He's basically just letting me drag him by this point." Luke shifted Nico so that he was carrying the son of Hades. "There we go. Much better."

"Weeee…"

The group continued to run, sprinting around people, cars, bikes, and news stands.

"Percy, take the next left," Annabeth called.

Percy obeyed without a word, careening around the bend only to skid to a halt with a vicious, "_Fuck!_" Thalia slammed into him from behind while Luke and Annabeth managed to brake themselves. Mormo stood in the middle of the sidewalk, terrible teeth bared and jaws slightly parted. Legs and arms bent and poised for action. He flexed his bone-thin fingers, claws glistening in the sun.

"How did he get here?" Thalia asked breathlessly.

"He must have heard my directions and cut us off."

"No, _how did he get here?_"

"I don't know! Ran, flew? He's a spirit, he could have all sorts of powers! Does it really matter?"

"I'm a Hunter, I like to know my enemies."

"Well-"

"Move!" and suddenly Percy was shoving her, cutting off her response.

Annabeth watched as razor sharp claws slashed through the air where she had just been. Percy slashed at the monster but he dodged back, avoiding the blow. Percy pressed on though, attacking again and again. Mormo fought him blow for blow, catching Riptide on his claws and throwing his own counterattacks.

Thalia followed them with a notched arrow, but she couldn't fire for fear of hitting Percy. Luke was still struggling to keep Nico upright, so he couldn't help. Not that Percy really needed it. He seemed to be handling himself just fine, parrying and attacking, face a furious mix of concentration and anger.

Suddenly Percy blocked an attack, throwing Mormo's hand off to the side, unbalancing the monster. He spun inside the creature's guard and cracked it in the skull with Riptide's pommel. Mormo groaned and grasped at its head, stumbling backward into the road. Where a large SUV promptly slammed headfirst into it. The spirit flew like someone had launched it from a slingshot, clearing the line of buildings across the street and crashing rather loudly onto the roof. And from the following cacophony of crashes, Annabeth guessed probably _through_ the roof. And several floors.

Thalia gave a whistle. "Couldn't have weighed too much could've he?"

"Yeah, well, we have no clue how long he'll be down for, so let's get moving while he have the chance." Annabeth starting running again. "It's not much farther to the station."

The group set off again, eyes darting to and fro to make sure the spirit did not reappear; Nico continued to stare blearily at the sky. They seemed to be out of harm's way though, and they reached the train station without further incident. They slumped against a wall next to the ticket booth, catching their breath, while Luke purchased their tickets.

Percy gulped down air, ignoring the fiery, spiking pain forking through his body. He cocked his head to the side and listened. The sirens were far, far away now. They should be fine.

"Well, off to a great start," he grumbled.

"We're not doing too badly, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth spoke from where she was crouched over Nico, feeding him a small square of Ambrosia. The glassiness slowly left his eyes and he blinked a few times as he regained his senses. "We haven't been separated yet and nobody's been seriously hurt."

"Yeah, but they found us already and-"

Thalia cut him off, "That's nothing new, Percy."

"I know. Just…that all went to hell so fast. Something just feels off, you know?"

_**No, they don't know, Percy.**_

"Everything's fine, Percy. Don't sweat it."

_**See? They can't feel it like you can.**_

_Be quiet._

_**You are different then them, Percy. Don't forget that. Nor what they did to you.**_

_They didn't do anything. You've done more to me than they have._

There was a dark chuckle in his mind.

_**You don't even believe that yourself.**_

Percy didn't respond, and the voice stayed quiet. Luke returned with the tickets, and the five demigods proceeded to the loading area.

That's when Percy heard it.

A horrible, rasping sound, like a dying breath. He had heard too many in the war not to recognize it immediately. It sounded like it was right in his ear. He flinched and turned, expecting to see Mormo glaring down at him, hand already slashing toward his throat. There was nothing except for the empty platform and Annabeth.

She noticed his expression and touched him arm lightly, repressing a flinch when it sucked the heat from her body. "Everything alright, Percy?" She asked quietly.

"Can you hear it?"

She tilted her head, but nothing reached her ears. "Hear what?"

"That sou-"

"_Peeeeeercyyyyy Jaaaaacksoooon…"_

Percy looked at Annabeth, whose eyes were wide and darting around everywhere. "Tell me you heard that."

"Yeah, I heard that one."

"Mormo again?" Thalia asked, hand itching toward her bow. It appeared everyone had heard the voice.

"Certainly seems like that."

"Doesn't that fucker stay dead?"

"_Peeeercyyyyy…"_

By now the train was roaring into the station, braking in front of them.

"C'mon, c'mon," Nico whispered urgently, now fully aware once again. "Open the damn doors."

On cue, the doors hissed open and people poured off the train. As soon as there was a clearing, the small band of half-bloods pushed forward and got on the train. Percy turned to look out the window as the doors slid shut behind them.

He let out a startled cry and stumbled backward.

Staring at him, face pressed up against the glass, was Mormo. Percy was halfway through drawing Riptide when Annabeth's hand clamped his arm down.

"Look closely, it's not actually him. It's just some form of projection."

Percy examined the creature more thoroughly to find that Annabeth was right. It was far too transparent to actually be real. That didn't seem to mean it couldn't talk though.

"_Percy Jackson._"

"What do you want?"

"_To eat you. My master wishes for you to never complete your quest. I may have failed, but the others you will encounter will not. You will not reach your destination, Perseus Jackson, I promise._"

"I've killed hundreds of monsters, toppled the Titans, and endured the worst pain possible." He walked right up to the door and got as close as he could without rubbing his face on the glass. He glared into the dead eyes. "Just you try and fucking stop me."

Mormo's horrid smile grew larger. He was _grinning._ The action did not fill Percy with confidence. "_As you wish, Son of Poseidon._" The train started to roll out of the station, leaving Mormo behind. "_I curse you, Perseus Jackson, to eternal pursuit. You will never be free, and you will never know rest. Laelaps comes._"

"You send your monsters. I'll kill all of them. Don't you worry," Percy spoke quietly as the face faded from view.

He turned back to the others only to find Thalia and Annabeth looking at him with wide, worried eyes.

"What?"

"This is really not good, Percy."

"What do you mean?"

"She's right, Percy," Annabeth whispered. "If he really has summoned Laelaps then things are about to get a lot worse."

"That's supposed to be impossible though! Didn't Zeus …"

Percy didn't hear the rest of Thalia's sentence, nor Annabeth's response. He was too busy listening to something else. He narrowed his eyes and focused. There was no way he had really just heard that…

"Percy? What's wrong?"

He looked at Annabeth with a furrowed brow. "Nothing, I just thought I heard-" He stopped and whipped his head to the side. "There it was again."

"What, Percy? What do you hear?"

The son of Poseidon was quiet was a moment, listening again, to be sure he wasn't crazy. But no, there it was a third time. There was no mistaking it. "It…it sounds like…a dog barking?"

A few seconds of silence followed his statement before Thalia broke it with a profound,

"_Fuck._"

* * *

**A/N:** And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you all enjoyed it. Please, review and review, it helps motivate me, really.

As always, I love every single one of my fans who remind me of how much this fic means to them

Oh, yeah, the news about the story. The chances are high that I'm going to turn it into a trilogy :D

I'm already working out the major plots of the next two stories, and believe me, it's quite fucking epic, if I do say so myself.

Anyway, really hope you enjoyed the chapter. Review! Until next time then guys

~ScionoftheEnd~


	13. Boiling Over

**A/N:** I'm so sorry this took me so long guys. I've had so much stuff piled on my plate for awhile now, and finding anytime to write got really difficult. Add to that the fact that once or twice I lost all the progress I had on the chapter from computer crashes and you got a whole bundle of joy. I have not by any means abandoned this story, and I love every single one of you for sticking with my bullshit.

You've waited long enough though, so here you guys are. Enjoy...

* * *

Boiling Over

"Okay, I can't take this anymore!"

Annabeth glanced up from her laptop at Percy's outburst. "Can't take what anymore, Percy?"

"This!" He motioned around him at the train compartment the five demigods were sharing on the train.

"It's just a train, Percy."

"That's not what I mean." He stood abruptly and began pacing to and fro in the short space. "We're just sitting here waiting for that…that…_dog_ to find us and murder us."

"Not us, Seaweed Brain," Thalia spoke up from where her head was resting on Luke's shoulder. She opened her eyes and focused them on the son of Poseidon. "Just you."

Percy just stared at her. "You're not really helping, you know. The barking's getting closer. I swear it."

"There's nothing much that can be done, Percy," Annabeth took over before Thalia could make Percy anymore nervous. "We can't very well avoid Laelaps. The best we can hope for is to face him head it head on whenever it finally shows up."

"Percy fidgeted some more before finally collapsing into his seat. He pinched the bridge of his nose before saying exhaustedly, "Remind me again exactly what this thing is."

"Laelaps is the greatest of hunting dogs," Thalia said, stretching her arms out over her head. "He never failed to catch his prey, ever."

"Except whenever someone did the unthinkable and ordered him to catch the Teumessian fox," Annabeth added.

"And why was that the unthinkable?"

"The Teumessian fox was a creature that was quite literally destined to never be caught. Therefore whenever a creature that always catches its prey is sent after a prey that could never be caught, it created a paradox. Zeus got sick of watching them run around each other and turned them to stone and cast them into the stars."

"According to legend, anyway."

Percy turned to look at Thalia. "What do you mean by that?"

The daughter of Zeus shrugged. "Well, Laelaps is clearly back in the existing world now. And on top of that…"

"What?"

Thalia bit her lip. "Well…it's strange, Lady Artemis always talked so fondly about Laelaps and the fox both. Whenever I asked her about it the one time she told me the same thing Annabeth just told you, but she told me that she didn't believe the fox was cast into the heavens at all. She apparently went to visit them both one time and could only find Laelaps."

Annabeth pulled a face. "Strange…maybe she was just looking in the wrong area? Zeus probably kept them as far away from each other as he possibly could."

Thalia shrugged, "Maybe. She sounded pretty sure though."

"Teumessian fox…" Nico suddenly breathed. Percy, who was sitting next to him, gave a start, believing that the teenager has been sleeping. "Why does that name sound so familiar?"

"Couldn't tell you, to be honest. Many a hunter met their end trying to capture her, so maybe you've talked to a few of their shades?" Nico didn't say anything, just narrowed his eyes at his feet. Percy could almost see the cogs turning in his head. He watched the young son of Hades think for awhile, but upon realizing he wasn't going to be saying anything anytime soon, he turned his attention back to the girls.

"So there's really nothing we can do to avoid this thing?"

"Unfortunately, no." Annabeth reached across the car and laid her hand on Percy's, which were fidgeting in his lap. "Hey, it doesn't matter if we can't avoid it. There have been plenty of situations and problems before that we couldn't avoid. We'll deal with this one the same way we've dealt with those ones."

Percy let a small smile ghost his lips. "With a brilliant Annabeth plan?"

She let out a small chuckle before giving him that smile. That small, dazzling little smile that somehow always managed to make his heart stumble, even after all this time and sorrow. "I was thinking more of a bull-headed Percy situation."

"Oh, well…I can do that. I'm good at that."

Her smile grew wider. "I know."

"Christ, would you two just make out already and be done with it?"

You could always rely on Thalia to ruin a moment like a pro.

Annabeth yanked her hand from Percy's lap while Luke gave a small snort.

"Well well, looky who's awake." Thalia flicked the son of Hermes squarely between the eyes.

Luke yawned and sat up straighter. "What did I miss?"

"Miles of countryside, quest talk, and some serious Percabeth sexual tension. All in all, nothing new."

"P-Percabeth?" Annabeth spluttered.

"What the hell's a Percabeth?" Percy asked at the same time.

Thalia pointed at them with her index and middle finger. "Percy. Annabeth." She twisted the two fingers on top of one another. "Percabeth."

"We have a freaking couple name?" Annabeth shouted. She shot Percy a look at of the corner of her eye, to see his reaction. His was bright red and slack-jawed.

"Well, yeah, we can't keep referring to you as Percy and Annabeth. It's just too many syllables. Percabeth is so much simpler."

"That's…that's…_total bullshit!_" She again stole a glance at the Percy. This time, though, he head seemed to be slightly tilted, his eyes focusing elsewhere. He was thinking, or listening, or something. Before Annabeth could ask him what was up though, Thalia once again took her attention.

"Oh, look at dear little Annabeth, at a loss for words for once in her life. If I had known it was this easy, I would have tortured you all the more about Percy was sooner than this."

"Guys…" Percy said quietly.

His voice was swept under the growing tumult of Annabeth and Thalia though. "Oh, that's _real_ mature, Thalia."

She snorted, "I don't really focus on mature."

"Guys," Percy tried again, slightly louder this time.

"_Clearly,_" Annabeth spat; she as getting truly riled up now. "It seems all you want to do is burrow under everyone's skin anymore, Thalia."

"Well it's infinitely better than trying to analyze their every actions and treating them like a set of statistics!" Luke now had his hands on Thalia's shoulders, holding her back from flying at Annabeth.

"Guys!"

"Oh you're turning this back on me now? Well guess what, Thalia? Fu-"

"GUYS!"

They both turned to Percy at the same time. "WHAT?" They screamed at him. Luke winced at the level of their voices. They were breathing heavily, glaring at Percy with burning eyes. Despite her anger though, Annabeth seemed to take note of how worried Percy had suddenly become.

"What's wrong, Percy?"

"It's the barking. It's gotten closer. Much closer. It…it sounds like it's right on to-"

"THE TEUMESSIAN FOX!" Nico's sudden outburst startled everyone else in the car. They had sort of forgotten he had existed; he hadn't said a word since Annabeth had mentioned the fox.

"Yes, way to catch up to the conversation five minutes ago."

Nico ignored Thalia's quip. He began talking excitedly, the words tumbling out of his mouth so fast they were almost impossible to understand. "IknowwheretheTeumessianfoxis! We can free it and-and get rid of Laelaps! 'Cause if it's free again, Laelaps will have to go after it, right? 'Cause it never managed to catch it bef-"

"Nico. Nico!" Annabeth reached across the car and grabbed his shoulders. "Calm down. We can't understand you. Deep breaths." Nico stared at her for a second before breathing in deeply a few times. When it seemed he had calmed down some, Annabeth asked him, "Now, what were you trying to tell us?"

"I know where the fox is!"

Annabeth's forehead scrunched up. "The Teumessian fox?" Nico nodded furiously. "How could you possibly know that?"

"Because she's in-" Nico was silenced by the train giving a sudden lurch that threw he and Percy to the floor. Annabeth, Thalia, and Luke were slammed back into their seat.

Percy was on his feet in an instant, pen in hand, his thumb poised to flick the cap off.

Thalia growled, her eyes roaming over every inch of the train she could see. "The fuck was that?"

"I wanna say turbulence or a bad piece of track," Luke said, "but I'm guessing we're not quite that lucky."

"We never are," breathed Percy.

Thalia glanced at the window before turning her head and letting loose a small moan. They were hundreds of feet in the air, traveling across a large river.

"Why is it _always_ heights?"

"Because the Fates don't like you," Nico offered helpfully. The daughter of Zeus aimed a weak punch at his arm, but he easily batted it aside.

The five demigods stayed still for awhile, waiting to see if anything else happened. When everything seemed fine, they breathed a collective sigh of relief and settled back into their seats. Annabeth had just turned back to Nico to ask him what he had been talking before whenever the window in the car across the aisle shattered inward.

The cabin's door exploded. And then theirs did the same.

Through the freshly made hole flew a dog.

Percy didn't get a very good look at it, but he knew it wasn't a hellhound. It was too small. Too sleek. A sheen grey coat of short fur. A narrow snout and keen blue eyes. Which were focused solely on him.

_Laelaps._

He was here.

The dog cleared the debris that had once been a door and was on Percy in a flash. It snapped its jaws at his throat. The son of Poseidon just barely had time to bring Riptide in between himself and the creature. The dog bit down on the blade and threw its head to the side, yanking the sword from Percy's grasp. It then dove for the kill again.

Percy slid down in the seat, narrowly avoiding the razor sharp teeth that had been intended for his neck. Not wasting a second, he brought his legs up and planted his feet on Laelaps' stomach. He launched the dog across the carriage, into the wall above Annabeth, Thalia and Luke. The dog let out a small yip as it bounced off the wooden surface.

_Now's my chance._ Percy sprung out of his chair and ran to the window, where Riptide had fallen. He didn't have time to wait for it to come back to him. Behind him, Annabeth made a grab for Laelaps as he fell back down, but the hound, apparently not very dazed by the blow it had just been dealt, slipped through her grasp. Percy bent over and swiped up the sword. He turned around just in time to come face-to-face with Laelaps bearing down on him mid-leap.

Percy moved his head to side, barely dodging the attack. The dog was not done however. It flipped itself slightly in the air and sunk its teeth into Percy's shoulder as it continued over it. Percy gasped in pain as he was yanked backward by an intense force.

_How the hell is he so strong?_

Laelaps hit the window behind Percy and broke straight through it, sailing out into the open air, dragging a wounded Percy with him. They plummeting toward the river below.

Thalia, Nico, Luke, and Annabeth were left in a stunned silence, unable to truly believe that had just happened. They all just stared at the hole in the wall until Annabeth snapped out of her reverie. She stood, shoved Daedalus' laptop into her backpack, which she then slung over her shoulder. She tucked her Yankee's cap into her back pocket and moved toward the abyss.

Thalia reached out and grabbed her arm. "Where the Hades do you think you're going?"

Annabeth looked down at her with one of the most determined faces Thalia had had ever seen on her. "After Percy," she answered simply.

"Annabeth, that's a two hundred foot drop. We don't even know if Percy's-"

"He's alive. I know he is. He wouldn't…couldn't…die now. That's a river anyway. The water will help him."

"There's no way _you_ can survive that fall."

"Percy'll make sure I get down safely."

"Annabeth-"

"I can't leave him…not again." She said it so quietly and softly, yet she sounded on the verge of tears. Thalia let go of her arm gently, and Annabeth was gone, throwing herself out into the air.

She was weightless for about half a second, and then gravity exerted itself and yanked her down. The wind felt as though it was trying to tear her skin from her bones. She had to close her eyes against it. Annabeth spread her arms and legs, trying to create as much air resistance as she could. All she could do now was pray that Percy noticed her.

* * *

Percy lay at the bottom of the river, staring up at the ever-flowing surface. He admired the way the light danced through it, glinting off of the scales of a small school of fish. He felt the current rushing through the small bed of seaweed he was on. A copperhead snake swam effortlessly by, reverently whispering a quiet "My Lord" as it passed. Everything was calm and cool down here. The wound on his shoulder was gone now, healed almost the instant he had hit the water. The pain still burned ferociously through his nervous system though.

He wasn't sure where Laelaps had gone. The dog had been dragged away by the swift current whenever they had crashed into the river, and Percy wouldn't deny helping it along with his power. But at the moment, he didn't really care what had become of his newest enemy. There was only one thing on the young demigod's mind.

_Alone. Again._

_**You will always be alone, Percy.**_ Percy didn't even have the motivation to retort._** You are different from them, different from everyone. You need to realize it. Come to terms with it.**_Percy continued to stare up through the water, trying to ignore the terrible truth he heard reverberating through the voice's words. _**Stop waiting for them. Stop relying on them. They will always leave you on your own. They will never come for you. They will never understand you or the things you've endured. You will always end up alone. There is only one person you can turn to now. The only one who has forsaken you.**_

…_Who?_ An image flashed through Percy's mind. A shadow with gleaming golden eyes. _No. Never. I couldn't._

_**Couldn't you, Percy? He would welcome you with open arms, would soothe away your pain. He could give you acceptance and peace and everything you've ever desired. He would never turn his back on you like your friends and the gods.**_ For some reason the words resonated in Percy. They sounded so convincing…so true…

_I…_ Percy's thought died though, as something above the river's surface caught his attention.

_**He is the only one, Percy. He-**_

_The only one, hmm? Pray tell me then, what's that?_ He mentally pointing at the falling figure he had spotted. Percy didn't give the voice time to respond as he flipped himself and pushed off of the bottom, leaving a small cloud of silt in his wake. As he neared the surface he willed the waters around him to rise up. A column of water spun itself into existence and reached up into the sky to catch his companion gently out of the air.

As he broke the surface, he caught a glint of gold from the tower of water, and he couldn't stop a small smile from splitting his face._ Annabeth…_ Percy guided the water so that it lightly deposited her into his outstretched arms.

She spluttered for a second, shaking excess water from her hair. "I suppose you think you're all manly, snatching me out of the air like that."

"I don't know if 'manly's the best term for it."

She rolled her eyes as Percy began to propel them back toward shore. "Right, _heroic_, whatever floats your boat, Seaweed Brain."

"I could have just let you hit the water, you know?"

"Could you have, Percy? Could you really have?" Despite the teasing tone in her voice, her question troubled Percy, especially since he couldn't answer with a guaranteed no. Somewhere deep inside of him he knew that he still craved to see Annabeth in pain. He elected to stay silent, not trusting his voice not to betray his darkening thoughts. They reached the banks and Percy set Annabeth down, siphoning the water of her as he did so.

"Thanks," she murmured, running her hands though her golden locks for good measure.

"What about your computer?" Percy asked, suddenly realizing Annabeth has brought her bag with her.

She waved away his concern casually. "It's waterproof. Daedalus built that thing to last. You could probably lob a grenade at it and it'd barely scratch it." Percy narrowed his eyes at the bag as Annabeth turned to inspect the surroundings. "Don't even think about it," she said without glancing around. Percy looked up at her, startled. "It's tough, but that doesn't mean you get to go wailing on it with your sword." Percy opened his mouth to deny her accusation, but Annabeth cut him off, "Oh, please, Percy. I know exactly what you were thinking."

Percy grumbled something along the lines of "daughter of Athena bullshit." Annabeth laughed lightly and turned around to look at him. "Calm down, Percy."

"I _am_ calm," but he couldn't help but crack a small smile at her.

"So anyway, what's our plan now?"

"I'm not really sure, to be honest." His eyes swept over the bank they had ended up on. There was a small beach made up twenty feet of silt and sediment tossed there from the river. After that the ground rose sharply for ten feet before flattening out into a heavily wooded area. Along the top of the small hill and the beach were scraggly bushes. Percy kicked a few round pebbles around. "I didn't really have time to consider what to do as I was falling out of the train, to be honest. I _was_ kinda involved in a fight for my life."

Annabeth's face scrunched up in worry. "Speaking of which, where is Laelaps?"

Percy shrugged. "Not here, that's about all I know. The current pulled him away."

She moved over to Percy and laid her hand on his shoulder, where Laelaps teeth had recently torn his flesh. She ran her fingers over the tattered fabric of his shirt, feeling the skin underneath for any sing of the wound. Despite the fact that she could tell the water had healed him, she asked in a low voice, "Your shoulder?"

"It still stings, obviously, but it's not a problem. It's nothing I'm not accustomed to at this point."

She nodded. "I'm glad you're okay." Percy turned to look her in the eyes, and Annabeth felt her breath hitch as his gaze bore into her. She was still astounded at the depth and emotions she saw in those green pools. She didn't realize how close she had drifted to him until he spoke, his breath brushing against her lips.

"You came back for me…" he whispered quietly, resting his forward lightly against hers.

Annabeth could feel his heart hammering steadily through his shirt, and she absent-mindedly wondered when she had placed her hand on his chest. She wasn't quite sure when her other hand, which had been on his shoulder, had snaked up to the back of his head and begun idly playing with his hair. She inched just a tiny bit closer. No more than a hairsbreadth separated them now.

"Of course I came back for you…I…" Annabeth bit her lip, suddenly unsure. Was now really the time for this? Couldn't she wait for a better time to tell him? _Oh gods take it._ She took a deep breath. "Percy, I…"

"PERCY! ANNABETH!" the two demigods tore apart so quickly Annabeth was certain the wind had shorn a few layers of skin from her face. She turned to the source of the voice while Percy took up a sudden interest in the rocks at his feet.

"What?" She hissed at Nico. The upper half of the son of Hades sat suspended in the air. His head was turned around, and he was clearly talking to someone behind him. He didn't appear to have noticed the state Percy and Annabeth had been in.

Nico rotated around to look at her with a raised eyebrow. "Testy testy. Did we interrupt something?"

"Shove it, Nico. What do you want?"

Nico gave her a skeptical glance before shooting Percy a look as well. The son of Poseidon continued to stare pointedly at his feet. Nico shrugged. "Whatever. Anyway, I'm Iris messaging you to let you know that the plan's changed, at least for the time being."

"What do you mean?"

"Look, we can't continue this quest with Laelaps constantly breathing down our necks. We won't get anywhere."

"What do you suggest we do about it?"

Nico grinned. "Free the Teumessian Fox."

Percy's head popped up. "You mentioned earlier you knew where she is?"

Nico nodded. "The fox is in the underworld. Zeus wasn't happy with just turning them to stone. He wanted to make sure they could never fight again, so the one he cast into the heavens and the other into the underworld in secret."

Annabeth narrowed her eyes at him slightly. "Then how do you know about it?"

He rolled his eyes. "I'm the son of Hades. Not much goes on in the Underworld I don't know about. Either way, she's kinda just chillin' in the hall in my dad's palace. I think he kinda likes keeping her there as some sort of trophy."

"So if we free the fox, Laelaps will leave me be?"

"We're not sure, Percy," Annabeth said, "but at the moment I can't think of a better plan. We need to deal with Laelaps somehow." She glanced up to Nico. "We'll meet in Los Angeles, then. Be careful, you guys."

Nico nodded. "You too. Make it fast, Apollo gets weaker by the minute." With that grim reminder, he severed the connection, leaving the two demigods in a semi-awkward silence.

"Let's get moving," Percy said, setting off for the hill. "We've got a lot of ground to cover still."

Annabeth huffed and jogged up to match his pace, poking him in the ribs when she sidled up beside him. "Look at you, being all leadery and responsible."

Percy chuckled. "People change, Wisegirl."

"Yeah…but your head will _always_ be full of kelp…"

Percy full out laughed this time, bringing a smile to Annabeth's face. They continued on into the woods, conversation flowing easily between them for the first time in an eternity.

* * *

**A/N: **And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you enjoyed it. I definitely starting to move the story along more now, if you couldn't tell. As always, review review review. Seriously, reviews are what keep pushing me to find the time to write. Look forward to the next chapter, which I will do my absolute best to turn out faster than the last few ones.

Until next time,  
~ScionoftheEnd~


	14. Heated Surprises

**A/N:** So, um, hey guys. I know it's been awhile, and I'm incredibly sorry. I think you've been waiting for this chapter for long enough, though, so we'll talk after it, k?

enjoy...

* * *

Heated Surprises

The sky rumbled ominously, a deep, lingering peal of thunder that made a promise of what was to come. Annabeth glanced up nervously. The clouds were gathering thick and dark. There was a hell of a storm brewing, and that did not bode well for their progress.

Currently, she and Percy were trudging through a fairly thick forest. According to the GPS Annabeth had brought with her, they were in Northwestern Arizona, steadily making their way toward the bottom edge of California that bordered the state. Once there, hopefully they could hitch a ride or something, 'cause they had a lot of ground to cover and not a lot of time to do it in. Annabeth had asked Nico to shadow travel to get them but he had refused for two different reasons.

One was that he was exhausted, and the blow to his head from earlier was still affecting him. The other was that if he shadow traveled out to them and then brought them back the same way, he would most likely fall unconscious, which would only further impeded their progress. Annabeth has grumbled at this, but gave didn't press the issue. His arguments were logical, and if there was one thing Annabeth couldn't find fault in, it was solid logic.

As such, their plan currently stood as such. She and Percy would do their best to get as far as they could on their own. If the other Luke, Nico, and Thalia managed to find a good place to stop for a while and rest up, Nico would come for them via the shadows. Whatever distance Percy and Annabeth managed to cover in that time would only serve to reduce Nico's energy expenditure.

Annabeth sighed again. This was quite the fine mess they had gotten themselves into. On the run from a mythic hunting dog, separated, and stranded somewhere without any means of transportation besides their feet.

She looked over to Percy, who was trudging along beside her with his head down. He had been quiet for a while now, and Annabeth was beginning to sense that the storm in the sky wasn't the only one getting ready to break.

"You sure we can't take Mrs. O'Leary?" she asked mildly.

Percy was silent for a moment before he breathed out heavily and tilted his head to the sky. His hand raked through his hair as he replied wearily, "No dice. I already tried summoning her a few different times. I don't know what's going on, but it seems she can't hear me or doesn't want to come."

Annabeth pulled a face. "Oh well, it was worth a shot. Guess we're stuck huffing it until Nico's feeling well enough again."

"Yeah…" He was looking at his feet again.

Annabeth stopped walked and crossed her arms. "Alright, Seaweed Brain, what's going on with you?"

He gave the answer she had been expecting. "Nothing."

"Like Hades nothing." He stopped, and turned to give her a weak glare. He opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off, "Look, we already know that you can't fool me or lie to me. So how about you just come clean and tell me what's going on?"

Percy was silent, his gaze contemplative and troubled.

_**Go on. Tell her.**_

_Fuck you._

_**Tell her all about our conversations. Tell her how alone you feel, even surrounded by your 'friends.' Tell her that you still don't trust her, that you still haven't forgiven her.**_

_No._

_**Why not, Percy?**_

_Because…just, because._

_**You are **_**afraid. **_**You always have been, and you always will be. You will always be afraid because of what happened to you. Because of what they did to you. Because of what **_**she**_** did to you.**_

_You're wrong._

_**No, Percy. I'm never wrong. Not whenever it comes to you.**_After that, Percy's inner demon went silent, and he came fully back to reality to find Annabeth looking at him worriedly. She was biting her lip, and as _adorable_ as he normally found that, right now he didn't particularly care.

"Well?" she hesitantly asked.

He sighed again. "I'm fine, Annabeth," he lied, but continued talking before she could protest to it, "I'm just worried about this quest. So far it's gone fan-fucking-awfully and I can't really afford to mess this up." He ran his hands through his hair again, and as worried as Annabeth was, she was momentarily distracted by the action, her hands twitching, wishing they could mirror his moves. _Focus, Annabeth, focus._

She gave him a hard look, trying to determine if he was telling the truth. He was holding something back, she knew, but she decided to cut him some slack. "I know, Percy. But hey, our quests normally seem to get off to rough starts. More than just starts, actually. Our quests have always been a shitstorm from the getgo all the way to the conclusion." She walked across to him and laid her hand on his upper arm. "But we've always managed them, right? I mean c'mon, we've been to hell and back, literally. We held up the _entire world._ And look, we're still here. We're still fine."

Percy snorted. "Fine's a relative term."

Annabeth moved her hand from his arm to his cheek. He glanced up into her eyes at the contact, and she gave him a smile. "You're still breathing. You're still here. You can still feel this, me. You're fine." Percy just gazed into her eyes for a second, his hand coming up and covering hers. "We're gonna get through this. Same as we always have. I'll make sure of that. I promise I won't let anything happen to you, or Luke, or Thalia or Nico. No one. I promise. This time…this time I promise I'll be there. _I'll protect you._" By the time she finished, her eyes were watery, and Percy looked stunned. She hadn't planned to pour that all out right there and then, but it had just kinda spilled over.

"Annabeth…" he breathed, unsure what else to say. He just gazed into her eyes. Green on grey. Troubled and confused on determined and something Percy couldn't identify. She leaned upward, moving ever so slightly. Percy moved downward, their faces coming closer with each breath.

Annabeth felt Percy's warm breath on her lips, and she almost lost control right there and then. But she held back. There was something she needed to say. She took a deep breath, and tore her eyes away from his lips, where they had been locked ever since they had started inching closer. "Percy-" she breathed.

A flash of lightning, followed by perhaps the loudest crash of thunder she had ever heard split the sky, killing her words in her throat. Both demigods blinked, and then stepped away from one another, blushing furiously.

Percy coughed into the awkward silence. "C'mon, we'd better set up camp. It's gonna be a hell of a storm, and we don't want to get caught out in it." He swung the pack off of his shoulders and began undoing the tent attached to the bottom.

"Yeah," Annabeth mused quietly while she watched him work. "Hell of a storm."

* * *

They had timed it perfectly. No sooner had they set up the tent and Percy had finished creating a waterproof film around it then the clouds opened up on them. There was no soft, easy ramp up from drizzle to rain. It was quick, and it was torrential. Percy had just finished zipping up the entrance when the rain started hammering away on the canvas.

They took a minute to situate themselves and roll out their sleeping bags. They laid back, each on their own, and stared up at the roof of the tent.

"Well, glad we decided to stop when we did," Percy commented quietly. Annabeth heard a strange note in his voice though, almost as if he was hoping she would disagree with him.

"Yeah. Just barely made it in time." Percy gave a grunt before rolling over and reaching into his bag for something. Annabeth did the same, pulling out her laptop and opening it.

"Whatcha doing?" he asked. She glanced up to find Percy looking at her. In his hands he held a portable game system. He must have picked it up at Sally's place whenever they were there, for Annabeth couldn't recall ever having seen him with it before.

"I'm gonna check out where we are, and see if I can't scrounge up any more useful information about this quest."

"We're out in the middle of nowhere, how are you gonna do anything without internet?"

"I have internet, Percy." His eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. "It kinda comes with the laptop. Daedalus designed this thing to be able to operate wherever, whenever. It can access the internet anywhere, it's waterproof, fireproof, shockproof, and is entirely self-powering. On top of that I don't have to worry about attracting any monsters with any signals I may send or receive. That's all been masked. I'm still trying to figure out exactly how he did it so that I can replicate it for normal demigods to use, but it's such a complex machine it's hard to determine, even for me."

"Well that's convenient. The laptop, I mean, not the being unable to figure it out."

She chuckled. "I knew what you meant, Seaweed Brain."

They lapsed into silence then; Annabeth turned back to her laptop while Percy switched on his game and became engrossed in it. The silence between them was only broken by Annabeth's fingers tapping away at the keyboard, soft beeps from Percy's game, and the ever present patter of the rain drops above them. Hours passed, and the storm showed no signs of stopping. Annabeth sighed and glanced up at the canvas over her head before pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Alright, Percy, I think it's time to-" she stopped as she turned to find the son of Poseidon already lying on his side on his sleeping bag. He was facing away from her, so she couldn't see his face, but she could tell from the way his muscled back rose and fell that he was sleeping. His _shirtless_ muscled back. The blood instantly rushed to Annabeth's face. Gods _damn_ was she enjoying the view she had, minus all the scars marring his flesh. Those muscles, though. Annabeth bit her lip. _Fuck, when did he take his shirt off and how did I miss that show?_

She stared for a few seconds longer before shaking her head._ Get ahold of yourself Chase. _She closed her laptop and stretched, though it wasn't incredibly refreshing within the cramped confines of the tent. She slipped the computer back in her bag and turned to make sure Percy was still asleep before slipping off her shirt and jeans. She slipped on far more comfortable, loose-fitting pajamas. She figured she'd be too warm to actually sleep in her sleeping bag tonight, so she merely lay down on top of it and watched the silhouette of the raindrops sliding down the invisible, waterproof barrier Percy had erected.

She turned her to look over at Percy's back again. This time though, she put aside her heated thoughts, and studied him. She couldn't see much, so she turned on a small, portable lantern. The pathetic amount of light is produced cast shadows over the uneven contours of the scars that stretched across his back. She looked, and tried to guess at what could have been the cause of each of them. There was of course the bandage, and she what was under that. That one there, the large patch of raised, rough skin, was clearly due to burns. Severe ones. The collection of thin, crisscrossing, pale-white lines were some sort of blade, without a doubt. A sharp one; they were clean and smooth. She couldn't say the same of the ones on his lower back though. They were rougher, more jagged around the edges, and clearly had not healed easily. The skin was discolored, implying some of it was new, grown over the areas where the original skin has been torn away but whatever blunt edge was used on him.

She reached out and gently began tracing the scars, lightly brushing her fingertips over them, following the trail of suffering and pain they conveyed. It hit her all over, what they had done to him. What _she_ had done to him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered quietly.

"I know."

She hadn't been expecting a reply, but she didn't jump or show any sign of surprise. Percy rolled over, his eyes meeting hers in the dark. She idly began to trace the scars on the front of his chest now, and he made no move to stop her.

"I know you're sorry." Despite how quiet he was and how loud the rain was, she could still hear him clear as day.

"I didn't know why." Percy took a breath and was about to respond, but Annabeth continued, "But that's not enough. And I realize that now. It will never be enough. I can never undo what I did to you." Percy was silent. "The only thing I can do," she shifted so she was right up against him, resting her forehead on his, "is be here for you. To promise you that I'm always going to be here. From now on, no matter what. I don't care what happens. Come hell or high water, I'm going to be here. With you. I'll never abandon you again, Percy. I promise." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Never."

"I think…I think that's all I can really ask for…" He averted his gaze downward. "Annabeth…"

"Hmm?"

"I…um…" His eyes switched to looking over her shoulders. "You…" He was silent for a moment, clearly trying to form whatever thought he had into words. "Oh gods take it," he finally said.

And with that, he closed the distance between them, pressing his lips to hers. Annabeth's eyes widened at first. She had not seen this coming. Not that she was complaining. She closed her eyes, and let herself sink into the kiss, mouth melting to fit Percy's. It was a basic, simple kiss, but that didn't matter. What mattered was the meaning behind it. Percy _kissed _her. He still felt something. He had to. Annabeth smiled into the kiss, so happy she felt giddy. Her thinking didn't last much longer though, for as the kiss went on she was slowly beginning to lose the ability to have rational thoughts.

A few moments later, when Percy's tongue flicked her bottom lip, asking for entry, she did. Any control or self-restraint she might have had disappeared right then. She opened her mouth, allowing him in. His tongue explored at first, but quickly took up a duel with hers, a ferocious duel in which each side was the victor. One of her hands was knotted in his hair. The other was holding his face, pulling him toward her with as much fervor as she could. Percy's were planted on either side of her waist, on her hips. She wasn't sure when they had gotten there, nor when they had both sat up. She was now aware that she was in his lap, between his legs, while hers rested to either side of him. She liked this position.

She continued to kiss him furiously, trying to demonstrate to him her feelings, her desires, everything she had pent since all the years ago when she had first realized she loved him. His reply was just as strong and passionate. His hands moved from her hips, trailing upward across her bare skin underneath her shirt. She gasped whenever his fingers brushed the lower lip of her bra. Percy was breathing heavily, and the look in his eyes made her insides squirm.

"Annabeth," he breathed in the roughest, most rugged voice she had ever heard from him. It ignited a whole new wave of heat within her, a passion that cause her to release a low growl at him as she grabbed the lower hem of her shirt and yanked it over her head and threw it to the side where it landed partially on the lantern, cutting off the majority of their light. Percy's eyes widened. "Fucking _hel-_" Annabeth cut him off by crashing her lips back onto his bruisingly, both of her hands now running freely over his torso.

Percy's arms encircled her waist, and he pulled her up against him. Both of them felt the heat pulsing off of the other. Suddenly Percy's lips left her own, and she whimpered at the loss of contact. He soon made up for it though, by moving his attention to her neck. He began sucking at it, moving all over, exploring every inch. She grabbed the back of his head, moaning whenever he found a particularly sensitive spot. He moved to her collarbone, nipping lightly along the way, and Annabeth let loose another whimper. His hands trailed up and down her spine, his icy cold hand making goose bumps appear all over, and sending shivers through her body. Soon enough, his hands came to rest on her bra clasp, and only then did they stop. She felt his hands slowly drift back to her waist.

Percy came up from his ministrations at her collarbone and looked her in the eye, his face entirely serious.

"Percy?" she panted, confused.

"Are…" he swallowed, "Are you sure this is alright? Do you to slow down?" Annabeth just stared at him for a moment before giggling. "H-Hey! Why are you laughing? It was a serious question!"

He looked like he was about to say something else, so Annabeth held a finger up to his lips. She smiled widely at him. "I know it was, Percy. And I wasn't laughing at you. It was just so like you, to make sure that this was alright, to care so much about me and my feelings that you'd stop to ask. It makes me happy." She brought her hands up to his face and pulled him in for a gentle kiss. "Yes. It's alright. All of this is alright. Better than alright. It's wonderful. _You're_ wonderful. I've…wanted this, _you_, for so long, I can hardly remember when it started. Even when you weren't here."

Her voice grew quiet and she took his hands in hers. "Even then, I wanted you with me. I felt empty without you, like a piece of me was missing. I always smothered those feelings after you were locked away. Told myself not to feel them, that I shouldn't, _couldn't_. But I did. And I think somewhere way deep down, I knew I did, and I knew I couldn't just rid myself of them. And now you're here, with me. So yes, it's alright. It's perfect." She leaned in and kissed him. "I love you, Percy." He didn't say anything, too stunned to form a word. She gave him a small smile. "I don't expect you to say anything, or to reciprocate those feelings. I just needed to let you know. I've loved you for a very long time now."

"I…" he looked down, word failing him for the second time that night.

"Percy, it's okay." She placed her hands on either side of his face and tilted his head up. "You don't have to say anything, honestly. It's alright. I understand."

"But I…you have to…ugh!" He pulled her forward and gave her a rough, lingering kiss that left her breathless. He spoke, his words coming out in a rush, "Gods dammit _I love you too._" He looked away, refusing to meet her eye.

It was Annabeth's turn to be stunned. "You…you what?"

His reluctantly made eye contact. "I love you too, Annabeth." She gave a sharp intake of breath.

"S-Seriously?" He nodded. "I…but…I can't...I thought you…hated me."

"I've never hated you. Never," he protested forcefully. "I was angry with you. Upset, hurt and betrayed by what you did to me. But I never hated you. I've loved you since we were kids, how could I hate you?"

"The way you acted…"

"Again, angry and upset. I'd just been through hell, my mind was in tatters, I was looking for someone to blame. But now, I'm better. I've gotten some distance and some perspective on the whole story, and I've calmed down. Don't get me wrong, a part of me it still very angry with you, and I can't quell that feeling outright. It's going to take a long time for that." Annabeth looked down ashamedly. "But," Percy reached over and clasped her hand, "I trust you. I believe in you. And yes, I do love you." He kissed her. "It's just going to be a while before I'll be entirely over everything. I'm sorry."

She smiled, and Percy was overcome with how beautiful she was. "You don't have to apologize for anything. I understand entirely." Her smile grew even wider. "As for now, though…" She leaned closer to him, pressing her chest up against his. Her voice was sultry as she asked, "Where were we again?" She took their entwined hands and guided his to her back again, to her bra clasp. She pressed her lips against a surprised Percy's, and just like that, the feelings from earlier were once again roaring through the both of them. It was if someone had dumped gasoline on a dying fire.

Percy was fumbling with the fastener while they waged a heated battle with their mouths when suddenly he froze for the second time that night.

Annabeth pulled back, suddenly concerned at the look of worried concentration on his face. "Percy? Is everything o-"

The rest of her sentence got caught in her throat as Percy threw himself into her, tackling her onto the ground, with him on top. She was monumentally confused. What the hell was going on?

Suddenly, a ripping noise tore through the air, and a large shadow flew over the two of them. There was a hiss of pain from Percy, and Annabeth noticed a small spray of blood fly from his back. Knowing they were under attack now, Annabeth's battle reflexes kicked in. As the shadow landed on the other side of the couple, Annabeth lashed out with her foot from underneath Percy. She felt and heard the satisfying _thud_ and she made contact with the enemy, sending them rolling away with a yelp.

"Out, now," Percy growled through gritted teeth as he rolled off of her. She wasted no time in grabbing the lantern (and her shirt) and her dagger and jumping out of the tent entrance. Percy was right behind her, spinning around to confront the enemy within, Riptide already in hand. Annabeth pulled her shirt on haphazardly, then stood slightly crouched, dagger at the ready.

Even with the lantern in her hand, it was hard to see anything through the darkness and the pouring rain. She and Percy were soaked in seconds, but neither took notice. Both of their attentions were focused on the tent. She glanced over at Percy. There was steam rising from where the cold rain was healing the slashes across his back. There was a growl from within the tent, and Percy narrowed his eyes as Annabeth snapped her head back around. He concentrated and, with that familiar tugging sensation in his gut, he manipulated the raindrops falling onto the tent. He accelerated them, and caused them to became thinner. Suddenly, instead of just hitting the canvas and rolling off, the raindrops became tiny little needles, piercing through the fabric and, with any luck, whatever creature was underneath of it too. The tent was torn to shreds.

The monster underneath though, not so much. _Well, not so much a monster as a mythic beast._ Percy thought grimly. The hound emerged from the tatters of the tent, lips pulled back in a snarl, eyes gleaming unnaturally in the poor lighting. Blood trickled from multiple puncture wounds covering the dog's back. Laelaps. He had been hoping against all hope that they had seen the last of the mutt for a while, but apparently he had recovered quickly enough from the river incident.

Laelaps leapt at them, mouth open wide. Percy ducked under the attack, ramming the pommel of his sword into the hound's belly as he did so. Laelaps hit the ground and tumbled for a few feet before turning and springing right back at them, this time zeroing in on Annabeth. It lashed out with its claws at her repeatedly. She managed to deflect the first few blows, but the third one got past her defense, earning her four deep gashes on her left shoulder. She cried out and stumbled backward, tripping over a rock and falling. Laelaps pressed in on her, intent on finishing her off before she could recover.

His teeth were a mere few inches from her throat whenever he suddenly leapt to side, avoiding the celestial bronze blade that cut through the air where he had been before.

Percy placed himself in front of Annabeth protectively. "Don't you fucking touch her! It's me you want, right?" The dog growled deep in its throat. Percy tensed, trying to prep himself for the next assault. Laelaps darted forward. Percy struck out with a downward swing, hoping to catch him mid-attack. Laelaps, however, proved to be a bit more intelligent than Percy gave him credit for. He had anticipated Percy's attack, and made a quick sidestep to avoid the attack. Riptide embedded itself in the ground, and Laelaps snapped at Percy' hand.

The son of Poseidon wrenched his arm back, letting go of Riptide in the process. Laelaps pressed his attack, snapping at Percy's legs as he retreated. _I really miss being invincible sometimes._ Percy spun to avoid an attack, only to find himself face to face with Laelaps. _Fuck, he anticipated me again._ Laelaps was mid-spring whenever Annabeth slammed into him from the side. She had recovered her dagger, and her eyes were fierce despite the blood running from her shoulder. Her shirt was riding up, and her pajamas were sitting low, leaving a portion of her midriff and the top of her hips exposed. Something stirred inside of him, and Percy had to remind himself that this was _not_ the time for those kinds of thoughts.

Laelaps climbed to his feet, getting ready for another attack, and Percy had an idea. A stupid idea, to be sure, but still an idea. He reached for his pocket.

* * *

Annabeth saw Percy fumble at his pocket out of the corner of her eye. Considering his hand came back empty, she assumed that he the sword has yet to return. She couldn't afford to turn and look for it though. All her attention was focused solely on the adversary before her. She watched him closely, ready to react at the slightest movement. She studied Laelaps, looking for weaknesses in his defenses, or an injury that they might be able to turn to their advantage. She could find nothing. Even the wounds on its back seemed to have healed up already. _Shit, this thing's a monster._ She gritted her teeth. They needed to find way to put it down in one blow, prevent it from recovering. While it might not upright kill the beast, at the very least, it would probably give them time to make their escape.

Movement from her side caught her attention, and she turned herself to see Percy walking slowly towards Laelaps. The hunting dog watched the son of Poseidon with wary eyes. As he drew closer, though, it snarled and charged at him.

"Percy!" She started over to him, already knowing that she would be too late.

As Laelaps jumped at Percy, he hauled back his right arm and swung his fist forward. _That idiot! There's no way that's going to work! Just because he lost his sword doesn't mean he should use his fists!_

Percy's hand continued to fly towards Laelaps' open mouth, and Annabeth was terrified for him. He was about to lose his hand. But then she saw Percy flick his wrist, and something slid out of his sleeve right into his palm. The hound's eyes widened, but it was already too late to stop his momentum. Percy smirked as he flicked the cap off of the pen, and three feet of celestial bronze extended from his hand and down Laelaps' throat. Riptide's point burst through the back of the dog's neck with a shower of blood, skewering him. The rest of his body fell limply, and he slid from Percy's blade, lifeless.

Annabeth was frozen for moment, but quickly recovered and ran to Percy's side. He gave her a smile, which quickly turned into a wince as she smacked him on the shoulder.

"You idiot! You almost got yourself killed!"

"Hey, I had to draw him in enough that I could land a surprise attack on him."

"Ugh, you are so frustrating. I thought you were gonna lose your hand, you reckless buffoon. Or worse, your life."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. Percy rested his forehead against hers. "But I didn't, Wise Girl, so it's fine."

"That's not the point!" He smirked. "What? What are you smiling at?"

"You're so cute when you're angry."

"I-" he cut her off by pressing his lips to hers gently. She couldn't resist at all, and melted into it, leaning into his chest as her arms snaked around his shoulders. They broke the kiss after a few heartbeats, and she tucked her head into the crook of his neck with a sigh. "Don't think you can always get away with that, Seaweed Brain."

He smiled into her hair and planted a kiss on top of her head. "Wouldn't dream of it, Wise Girl."

"Woah, okay, what the hell is going on here?" They both froze at the sound of the voice. They turned to find Nico staring at them, even though he was hard to make out in the rain and dark.

"Oh, um, hey, Nico," Percy stuttered.

"Again, what the hell is go-_is that Laelaps_?!" Nico ran to the fallen body of the beast and crouched down to inspect, and while his back was turned Annabeth caught Percy's eye. She inclined her head at the Son of Hades and then ever so subtly shook her head. Percy got her message and nodded once to show he understood.

"Damn. Well done, you two. Of course, he won't stay dead. He's going to regenerate, but we'll be long gone by then." He stood and turned to them. "Now back to my original question. What's going on here?" He lifted an eyebrow.

"Healing," Percy spoke up before Annabeth could even begin to think of a reasonable explanation. "Annabeth got injured fighting Laelaps, so I was just using the rain to heal her." Annabeth glanced down at her shoulder to find that it had in fact been healed. The flesh had been mended and pain soothed away. She wasn't sure when Percy had done it, but she was quite grateful regardless.

"Uh-huh. So that's why you're…hugging her?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes and stepped away from Percy. "The healing requires contact Nico. And we were just relieved that that thing," she jerked a thumb at Laelaps' body, "was dead."

Nico continued to look at them with narrowed eyes for a minute before seemingly accepting their story. Apparently he hadn't seen any of the kissing, either because it was too dark or he had arrived too late. "Alright, whatever. Anyway. I'm here to pick you guys up. Everybody else is already in LA. We've got a pretty good hotel too." He held out his hands. "We gotta move fast though. I dunno how long Laelaps will be down. We need to get to Underworld as quickly as possible, and I'm going to need some serious rest after dragging you two back." They stepped forward and each took one of his hands. "Ready?" They nodded, and Nico stepped back into the shadows, dragging them with him as he sunk into the darkness.

* * *

**A/N: **So there you have it guys, the first chapter in well over a year. once again, I'm so, so sorry for that. I got caught up in my life, and things got so busy and hectic that I couldn't find a whole lot of time. Even whenever I did, I found I couldn't write. This is the first I've written since the last chapter I put out. I really struggled with trying to get past what was probably the biggest block of my life. I'm going to do my best to make sure it stays gone this time, so bear with me. In exchange, I promise you that I will never abandon this story. I am considering changing it from a trilogy to just a duology (the other two plots fit fairly well together) but I will not abandon that story. Promise ^_^

In other news, I'm graduated now, so the stress of school is gone. But now I have to search for a job and deal with the real world, haha, so wish me luck, my dear readers.

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Didn't see that coming quite yet, did you? I hope all of you who were waiting for the Percabeth to pick up will be sastified :)  
Also, I'm trying out a cover. Tell me what you guys think. It'll probably stay as is until I find a better one to accurately portray the tone of the story  
As always, my friends, read and review!

Until next time,  
-ScionoftheEnd-


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